Columbus Water Works proposes 4.95% rate increase, new regulatory compliance fee to fund long‑term upgrades

Columbus Water Works presented a proposed 2026 rate model to the City Council on Oct. 28 that would raise water and wastewater rates by 4.95% and add a new regulatory compliance fee to help fund regulatory mandates and infrastructure work, including eventual replacement of the city’s aging wastewater treatment plant.

The utility’s presenter, Jeremy, a Columbus Water Works official, said the recommended 4.95% increase would roughly match current industry inflation (about 4.2%) and would help the utility maintain service levels and pay for a $110 million master plan of water‑main and sewer‑rehab projects. Jeremy said the separate regulatory compliance fee — proposed at $5 for residential customers, $10 for small nonresidential accounts and $25 for large nonresidential accounts — would be used to begin financing larger future work, including compliance with forthcoming federal and state requirements for PFAS/PFOS treatment and to prepare for a new wastewater treatment facility the utility estimates could cost in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

“Right now, we are asking for a 4.95% rate…