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La Marque approves first reading of water rate changes, funds customer portal and wastewater work
Summary
Council approved the first reading of a revised water and sewer rate ordinance, a $54,000 ARPA-funded AquaTrax customer portal, and a $100,000 wet-well cleaning amendment to the wastewater rehab contract to help stabilize the utility fund and reduce system losses.
La Marque City Council on Oct. 27 approved the first reading of an ordinance to revise water and sewer rates, authorized a customer-usage portal funded with ARPA dollars and added a $100,000 wet-well cleaning alternate to an ongoing wastewater rehabilitation contract.
Finance staff explained the rate structure change would shift more of the bill to a meter-size-based flat fee and apply stepped consumption tiers so higher users pay substantially more. The proposal raises the base for typical 3/4"–1" residential meters (an illustrative $2.50 base increase was discussed in the meeting) and uses price tiers to promote conservation. A senior discount — $1.50 off per 1,000 gallons in each tier — was described as an effort to soften the impact for older residents who are individually metered.
Worth Ferguson said the changes respond to long-delayed adjustments recommended in a 2022 water-rate study, to rising costs from the regional water authority (staff noted a likely ~20% increase next year) and to chronic water loss that has fallen from historical highs to roughly 35 percent this year.
Council also approved a $54,000 contract with AquaTrax (ARPA-funded) for a customer portal that provides near-daily usage data, usage thresholds and leak alerts; staff said the portal includes roughly 7,500 licenses to allow broad resident access. Public-works staff described a $100,000 amendment to the wastewater plant rehabilitation contract to perform wet-well cleaning and remove solids and old equipment that are causing backups and odors; funding was attributed to the 2020 CO bond for the project.
Votes: The first reading of the rate ordinance passed (recorded as 'Aye'); the AquaTrax contract and the wastewater alternate were approved in separate, recorded votes.
Why it matters: Staff said the combination of rate adjustments, customer conservation tools and plant rehabilitation should move the utility fund toward self-sufficiency, reduce losses and lower the frequency of emergency repairs. Council members pressed for quarterly reporting to monitor whether the utility fund reaches break-even and urged continued outreach to customers about upcoming changes.
Quote: “This just gets us back functional,” Ferguson said of the proposed rate changes. “It’s not going to make us swim in money, but it will give us a place to build from.”
