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WSSC Water presents FY27 budget with 5% average rate proposal; Potomac interceptor cost jump flagged
Summary
WSSC Water told the Montgomery County Transportation & Environment Committee its FY27 proposed operating and capital plan relies mainly on customer revenue and includes a recommended 5% average volumetric and fixed-fee increase, expanded customer assistance and a $6 million PFAS treatment pilot; DC Water's revised Potomac interceptor estimate of about $59 million could raise WSSC's longer-term rates modestly.
WSSC Water officials on April 16 presented a proposed FY27 budget that the utility and county staff say is rooted in managing operational pressures while protecting multi-billion-dollar water and sewer infrastructure.
General Manager and CEO Keisha Powell told the Transportation & Environment Committee that WSSC's FY27 proposed budget totals about $1.94 billion and is built around four strategic pillars: infrastructure, workforce, innovation and service delivery. Powell said most operating funding—roughly 93%—comes from customer rates and that the utility prioritized cost containment, cutting $27 million from discretionary expenses while minimizing new programs.
CFO Manetsi Samsara presented fiscal-detail modeling and said the commission submitted a 6% base-case revenue enhancement with a 7% alternate; the FY27 preliminary proposed budget the committee reviewed is structured around a 5% average water-and-sewer volumetric and fixed-fee increase supplemented by 1% from non-rate revenue and a temporary rate-stabilization fund. Samsara estimated that a 5% average increase would raise an average three-person household's bill by about $4.92 per month (roughly $59 annually).
Powell and staff highlighted customer-affordability measures in the proposal: a 20% increase in customer-assistance funding to about $10.64 million for FY27 and an emergency customer-relief fund, in partnership with United Way, that will provide up to $750 for past-due balances.
The presentation also flagged operational vulnerabilities. Powell said the Potomac Water Treatment Plant has experienced power-interruption incidents and WSSC is coordinating with Pepco on grid reliability around the facility. Of particular note, Powell said DC Water recently revised its cost estimate for emergency work on the Potomac interceptor from about $20 million to roughly $59,000,005.09. WSSC said it expects to bear approximately a 30.9% share of those costs because the Potomac interceptor serves Maryland and Virginia jurisdictions, with the City of Rockville comprising nearly 16% of WSSC's allocation.
Samsara said the immediate impact of the DC Water charge increases total roughly $3.4 million on an operating basis and that staff is still evaluating how much capital spending will need to be deferred if offsets are required. The CFO estimated the Potomac-interceptor emergency work would increase ratepayer costs by a fraction of a percent in the FY27 model but warned the full effect will be clearer once DC Water provides a breakdown and mitigation plan.
Committee members praised the presentation and pressed presenters on the Potomac-interceptor numbers, the sustainability of one-time fund balances, and likely rate pressure in later years. After discussion, the committee indicated unanimous support for adopting WSSC's FY27 recommendation for the council record.
What happens next: WSSC and county staff said any additional DC Water invoices or cost allocations will be incorporated via CIP amendments as those numbers are received and that FY28 and later years could see higher rate proposals depending on the final interjurisdictional allocations.
