Buckeye proposes five‑year water and sewer rate plan to restore utility reserves and fund asset repairs

Terry Lowe, the City of Buckeye’s water resources director, told an outreach meeting that the city is proposing a five‑year water and sewer rate plan designed to restore reserves and fund long‑deferred asset maintenance.

"This committee was stood up by mayor and council," Lowe said, describing the Water Rates Committee’s role in shaping recommendations. He said the utility has not adopted new rates since 2013 and that the water and wastewater utilities operate as enterprise funds that receive no tax revenue: "We do not receive any tax revenue, property tax, sales tax, food tax, any of that type of stuff does not come to the utilities."

Lowe said the proposed changes include a five‑year multiyear adoption, restructuring base charges so they are tied to meter size, elimination of an existing $3 flat fee, and a phased "gradualism" approach to build toward a market‑recommended asset reinvestment level. He described the utility’s asset portfolio as roughly $1 billion and said a common rule of thumb is to reinvest about 2 percent of asset value annually (about $20 million) to sustain system reliability; Buckeye has not been meeting that target.

Why it matters: Lowe and members of the Water Rates Committee framed the proposal as a response to sustained cost increases and depleted reserves. The city’s model incorporated forecasted commodity and service cost increases (Lowe cited an expected APS electricity increase and higher health‑care and…