Cedar Park customers to start paying more for water this month

Mercedez Hernandez
·2 min read

CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) — Starting Feb. 1, Cedar Park water customers will be paying more overall for water utility services.

At a November, city council meeting, Eric Rauschuber, director of utilities for the City of Cedar Park, presented the new rates to city leaders.

He said for the first time in 22 years the city would be raising its base rate for water utility services by 12%. An example provided by Rauschuber said it would go up from $17.77 to $19.90 for homes using 0-2,000 gallons per month.

“The current average bill is $84.42 and would move to $92.28,” Rauschuber said.

Rauschuber said these new rates also raised prices for the different tiers of additional water used over the base rate of 2,000 gallons. For example, Tier 1 which is priced for homes that use 2,001-10,000 gallons will pay $4.49 instead of the previous $4.01.

The city also added a fourth tier to its pricing system, homes using greater than 20,000 gallons per month will pay $9.71.

Wastewater rates also got a price increase. The base residential (0-2,000 gallons) went up 6% from $21.70 to $23.

Rauschuber said these new rates are warranted by the rising costs of chemicals, parts, equipment, and fuel, as well as increased demand and unanticipated repair projects.

Water customers adjust to ongoing restrictions

These new rate changes come after temporary conservation rates were implemented last fall. The city remains under Stage 3 water restrictions, which allow water once per week.

Tara Barker said her household has adjusted to the ongoing restrictions. She replaced most of her grassy front yard with zero-scaping which requires little to no water.

“We had hoses that ran up up along the sides of the garden and I just I ripped everything out because we were not able to water anything for the longest time,” Barker said.

Shannon Hamilton, executive director of the Central Texas Water Coalition, keeps an eye on regional water issues.

She said instances like this are likely to continue as the demand for water grows in Central Texas amid drought-like conditions.

“We do have a water supply problem and these prices are showing that. The utilities are not doing it because they’re trying to make more money. They need people to realize water is our most valuable resource and it needs to be treated as such,” Hamilton said.

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