These Lancaster County water system users will have rate increases through 2032

Yearly rate hikes starting this quarter and ranging from 7.5% to 4% through 2032 are set for the 6,800 customers of the Elizabethtown Area Water Authority.

A $26 million infrastructure improvement project and increasing operating costs are behind the increases, which will initially raise most residential customers’ bill by $6 to $10 a quarter starting this quarter. Rate hikes will be 7.5% annually this year through 2029, 6% in 2030, 5% in 2031 and 4% in 2032. The authority serves Elizabethtown Borough, Mount Joy Township and West Donegal Township.

“Maintaining a dependable water system requires ongoing investment,” authority chairman C. Dale Treese said in announcing the increases. “The authority is committed to providing the best water quality at the most economical rates possible.”

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What improvements will be funded?

Major facets of the infrastructure improvement work include:

• Current water main replacement: Replacing nearly 36,000 feet of aged cast-iron mains — equivalent to 100 football fields — and 800 service lines to improve distribution and increase fire hydrant flow.
• Filtration upgrades: Replacing membranes that have reached the end of their service life and installing additional skid membranes for redundancy.
• Meter upgrades: Installing more than 4,500 new water meters and digital infrastructure to enable remote reading and reduce system water loss.
• Facility improvements: Construction of a new well-house for two wells with treatment equipment to increase capacity and meet future demand
• Future water main replacement: Replacing aged mains across Elizabethtown Borough, Mount Joy Township and West Donegal Township to improve distribution and increase fire hydrant flow.

The authority will use a combination of its capital reserves and low-interest state and federal financing to fund the work.

The rate hike plan was developed with the help of a consulting firm Utility Financial Solutions and presented at the authority’s November meeting. It was approved at the authority’s December meeting.

What’s happening with water rates across the county?

The authority is not alone among significant Lancaster County water suppliers seeking rate increases to fund infrastructure improvements.

Lancaster City Water, a department of city government, is seeking an increase of nearly 29.8% for residential customers outside of the city’s boundaries.  It provides drinking water to 120,000 people through 49,000 taps in the city and nine surrounding municipalities, including East Hempfield, East Lampeter, Lancaster, Manheim, Manor, Pequea, West Hempfield and West Lampeter townships and Millersville Borough. The system also serves four bulk customers including West Earl, East Petersburg, Upper Leacock and Penn townships.

Pennsylvania American Water Company, which serves several hundred Lancaster County customers in and around Quarryville, is seeking an increase for residential customers of nearly 17%.

Both the Lancaster and PAWC increases have been suspended by investigation by state regulators, who have held several public hearings to gather information as they consider their rate requests.

The Elizabethtown Area Water Authority did not have to seek state approval for its rate hike because the Public Utility Commission generally does not regulate rate hike requests by municipal authorities levied within their boundaries.