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Hospital and other essential users warn proposed tiers could be burdensome
Summary
Ashley Regional Medical Center and other essential-service speakers said they have little flexibility to reduce water use; hospital officials asked Council to consider impacts on essential services and redundancy needs.
Representatives of Ashley Regional Medical Center said the hospital’s consistent water needs—required for patient care, sterilization and code-required fire-flow redundancy—leave little room to reduce consumption without compromising services.
Mike Reynolds told the Council that the hospital has already cut outdoor irrigation by roughly 60% and plans further landscaping conversions, but that the facility’s baseline demands would likely place it in the highest usage tier under the proposed structure. He asked the Council to consider the operational constraints of healthcare facilities when refining rates.
Staff confirmed that certain large users will naturally fall into higher tiers and reiterated willingness to work with high-use accounts to model impacts and identify mitigation strategies. The City also noted the importance of preserving fire flow and the limited practical ability of some essential-service providers to further cut usage.
