The Erie County Water Authority (ECWA) today approved its 2023 budget, which increases the commodity water rate 46 cents per 1,000 gallons and adds $2.73 to the quarterly Infrastructure Investment Charge for ECWA’s more than 173,000 small meter residential customers.
Beginning January 1, residential customers will pay a rate of $4.26 per 1,000 gallons, which equates to an additional $25.76 per year based on median customer consumption of 56,000 gallons annually. The Infrastructure Investment Charge will increase $2.73 cents per quarter or $10.92 for the year for small meter customers. The total combined increases will cost customers about $36.68, or 10 cents a day, in 2023.
According to ECWA Chairman Jerry Schad, this year’s rate increase is due largely to the economic conditions impacting most households and industry sectors across the country, such as inflation, rising interest rates, increased costs for goods and materials, and supply chain issues.
“Private and public utilities throughout Western New York are experiencing large increases in their cost of doing business and in turn having to increase the cost of providing services to customers, and the ECWA is no exception,” said ECWA Chairman Jerome Schad. “Our financial professionals did an excellent job presenting a very sound budget that contains expenses within our control and continues our historic investment in ECWA’s system-wide infrastructure.”
According to ECWA Chief Financial Officer Karen Prendergast, 75% of the rate increase is directly the result of cost increases outside of ECWA’s control. “The main factors impacting the 2023 budget and rates are a 150% increase in chemical expenses, a projected 50% increase in power costs, a 15% increase in costs for outside contractors and restoration work, and significantly higher pricing for supplies and materials used by ECWA, which are all added expenses beyond our control,” said Prendergast.
ECWA’s 2023 budget also includes $74.7 million for system-wide infrastructure upgrades, slightly less than the $76.2 budgeted in 2022. Next year’s major infrastructure projects include:
· $33.2 million for new water transmission and distribution mains throughout ECWA’s system
· $28.7 million for upgrades at the Sturgeon Point and Van De Water Treatment Plants
· $4.0 million for upgrades to major pump stations throughout ECWA’s service territory
· $6.6 million for information technology upgrades, enhancements at the water quality laboratory, new service and line maintenance vehicles, and general facility upgrades
· $2.2 million for new remote radio read residential water meters
The 2023 infrastructure upgrades are part of an overall $243 million five-year infrastructure investment plan, which ECWA fully expects to execute through 2026.
“Although we recognize our customers continue to experience increases in their daily cost of living, ECWA must remain steadfast in investing in our customers’ infrastructure to allow us to continue to improve system efficiencies, reliability, and service delivery,” continued Schad. “To lessen the impact of our unprecedented level of infrastructure investment on customer rates over the long term, ECWA will continue to seek funding assistance from our partners in state and federal government.”