Eau Claire residents set to pay more in water bills next year - WQOW TV News 18
Eau Claire residents set to pay more in water bills next year | Eye On Eau Claire | wqow.com
EAU CLAIRE (WQOW) - City of Eau Claire residents are set to pay more in water bills next year. The city says it's to offset its daily costs and the price of battling PFAs.
On Tuesday, the City Council approved an 8% increase in the water utility rate that will go into effect in early 2024. Community services director Lane Berg said they're paying more in electricity, chemical costs, and transportation costs for equipment and repairs.
"Like everything else in the world the price of everything has gone up it seems," Berg said. "We need to raise the rates to cover those costs and then that also puts us in a better position to deal with PFAs."
Berg said increases like this are standard, and the city's goal of breaking ground on a PFAs treatment facility next year will be expensive, with a price tag of over $20 million. He said they do have some grant money already secured and more they still hope to receive, and they're optimistic some funding will come from a lawsuit the city's involved in against PFAs manufacturers.
Related: PFAS remain a concern in latest Eau Claire water report
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