Most area cities show water rate increases

The cities of Clovis, Lovington and Roswell have all had water rate increases in recent years, but the city of Portales has not had one for more than 10 years.

At its Aug. 9 meeting, the Portales City Council was asked to approve a 30 percent increase in water rates each year for five consecutive years for residential and commercial users. The council voted to postpone the item and asked the staff to revise its numbers before bringing the matter back for consideration.

City Manager Sarah Austin said in an email on Friday: “The City has not raised the Gross Receipts Tax since 2001. Other areas raise them often. That is what the city relies on to remain solvent.”

Austin said the “30% (proposed water rate increase) will not be what the city council will approve. I have been directed to bring a lower number (by council) and I am working on that now. 30% was a start but was not even a percentage I planned on the council approving.”

City Public Works Director John DeSha told council members the rate increase is necessary for the city to afford to provide water services and that incentivizing conservation was another reason for the need to increase the rates.

The News looked at the recent rate increases in the areas of Clovis, Lovington and Roswell.

EPCOR provides water services to the city of Clovis.

EPCOR’s senior communications advisor Matt Atwood said in response to questions posed by The News: “Rates for Clovis water service were changed back in 2019, the first instance in eight years. Rates increased approximately one percent year over year. (EPCOR does not provide wastewater or trash services in Clovis.)

“This change was primarily to support needed infrastructure improvements to ensure that the system continues to provide safe, reliable water for homes and businesses in Clovis. For instance, in 2019 EPCOR was operating 72 wells — twice as many as the region had 20 years prior. There were no punitive rates imposed nor was conservation a driver.”

Atwood added by way of clarification that “the rate increase approved by the Public Regulation Commission in 2019 was 6.3% (which averages less than 1% YoY through the eight years referenced).”

Wendy Perez is the office manager of the water department in Lovington.

Perez said in an interview on Wednesday said that the city has been increasing its water rates for residential, commercial and industrial across the board by 2 percent every year.

This increase will remain in effect until the city commission votes to stop it, she said.

Incentivizing water conservation was not the reason for the rate increase, she said. “We don’t have water conservation in Lovington yet.”

The issue of water conservation went before the commission twice but the item was tabled because the commissioners wanted more information, she said. The water conservation under consideration was to instigate water conserving measures such as watering only on odd days of the calendar, for example.

She said the city decided to increase the rates because the rates had been “flat for so many years.”

Lovington city clerk Shannon Lester said in 2017 the commission approved ordinance 553, which raised the water rates by 2 percent for residential, commercial and industrial and it increases each July 1 by that amount, according to the minutes of the June 26 commission meeting.

A staff summary report referencing that ordinance states:

“The rate increases are necessary to ensure stability of the fund as well as meeting debt service requirements.”

Todd Wildermuth, public information officer for the city of Roswell, said: “Roswell’s water rates (all types of customers) are increased annually based on information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index. Based on that source, the increase for the last completed calendar year was 1.6%. The specific rates vary depending on the size of the water delivery equipment being used by a customer and the amount of water used by that customer each month.” 

“Roswell does not currently have any water conservation measures in place that residents are required to adhere to,” Wildermuth said.