BANGOR, Maine — Trustees for the Bangor Water District unanimously approved Tuesday the public utility’s first rate increase since 2011.
With approval from the Maine Public Utilities Commission, the 9.8 percent increase in water rates as well as public and private fire protection rates will take effect July 1 for all communities served by the system.
In Bangor, the public fire protection rate would increase a lesser 9.7 percent due to a slight reduction in hydrants since the previous year. Public fire rates cover hydrants in public places.
Private fire rates cover services that feed fire suppression systems such as sprinklers.
Water district officials project the rate increase will generate an additional $543,000 annually. District Manager Kathy Moriarty said the additional revenue would be directed to replacing aging infrastructure.
She told the City Council last week that 28 percent of the system’s water mains, approximately 60 miles of pipe, is more than 100 years old. The average lifespan of a water main is 100 years, she said.
“A quarter of our system is past its useful life and failing,” she said.
For the average residential customers, who use 13,464 gallons per quarter, the rate hike means their quarterly bill will climb from $53.18 to $58.41, about $1.74 more per month.
For the “minimum-bill” customers, those who use less than 6,732 gallons per quarter and are thus charged the water district $33.20 minimum, the proposed rate hike means their quarterly bills will climb to $36.45, about $1.08 more per month.
The rate increase, Moriarty said, would accelerate pipe replacement from a 400-year plan to a 200-year plan in an attempt to reduce the average 30 water main breaks per year.
Even with the the rate increase, the Bangor Water District will have the 15th cheapest rate among 147 water utilities statewide, according to Moriarty.
Some of the system’s pipes that are still in use today were installed in 1875, she said.
A public hearing on the rate increase is scheduled for 5-7 p.m. May 14 in the council chambers at City Hall.
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