Portland Water District plans rate hike under $48M budget
The Portland Water District plans a 3.5% rate increase in May under the quasi-municipal agency’s $47.5 million operating budget for 2020, recently approved by trustees.
The budget is up $1.9 million, or 4.3%, over the 2019 figure. The district attributes that increase to higher electricity costs, increases in materials, debt service and the addition of four new positions, according to a news release this week.
A district report shows that costs of electricity, fuel and transportation are expected to exceed 2019 levels significantly in all categories of spending — as much as 9.2% for wastewater services and 7.8% for water supply operations.
Trustees also OK’d a $28.1 million capital improvement plan, which allocates $7 million to replace aging water mains and $17.2 million for improvements in wastewater collection and treatment. Much of those improvements consist of upgrades at the PWD treatment facilities in Portland and Westbrook.
The rate increase will result in a 72-cent increase in the monthly water bill for a typical customer, the district said, or $8.64 over the course of the year.
In July, the PWD issued $6.5 million in “green bonds” to finance improvements to water mains, service lines and other infrastructure in its 140-square-mile service area. The bonds were the district’s first to carry that label, which is essentially a marketing tool to help investors identify debt that advances environmental goals.
The district supplies water to 16% of Maine’s population, and operates a range of water, wastewater and environmental services in 11 southern Maine cities and towns.
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