Price of Pipes Prompts Wildwood Water Utility to Ask for Rate Increase

WILDWOOD — City Commission introduced an ordinance Feb. 18 for the Wildwood Water Utility to increase its rates 8.8 percent.
The cost to pay off debt incurred each time the utility replaces aging water mains in any of its service areas is driving the rate increase, according to Director Gary Ziegler.
Ziegler told residents and Commissioners that when towns replace their streets, the utility uses the opportunity to replace the lines. That way the utility pays for only the water mains and not the street reconstruction and repaving.
For example, he said, during the current Wildwood Boardwalk project, for instance, the utility found water mains from the 1920s and has replaced those 6-inch mains with 12-inch mains, providing for better service and fire protection.
Zeigler also mentioned a recent project in neighboring North Wildwood that cost that cost $779,000 in engineering and construction expenses.
Under the existing rate structure, the annual charge for a customer using 20,000 gallons per quarter is $259.36. With the increase that number would rise to $282.12 including fixed-service charges.
Ziegler said the cost increase would be 6.2 cents per day over three years, or 2.9 percent per year.
“I hope this increase would satisfy for another three years,” Zeigler said.
A public hearing on the rate increase is scheduled for March 11 at City Hall.