Plains holds first public meeting on water rates

PLAINS – The Town of Plains held their first public meeting discussing a proposed water and sewer rate increase on Wednesday, May 14.

The meeting gave the community an opportunity to comment on the proposed increase.

The town would like to raise the water rate by $6.27, while getting rid of the water allotment currently allowed in the base rate. The cost per gallon would be lowered to $1 per 1000 gallons. 

An increase was also proposed for the base sewer rate adding up to $2.65.

Together, the combined rate increase would be $8.92. 

During the meeting, Plains Mayor Greg Eitelberg gave a presentation of why the increases were needed.

“One of the reasons we need this is because I think we’ve taken out quite a bit of loans already and I believe we have to start paying up front for what we are going to need to do,” Mayor Eitelberg explained.

Currently the town has 400 galvanized lines that feed their meters and the lines have corroded and rusted. Mayor Eitelberg estimated it would take over $100,000 to replace all the lines, which have recently started to bust and leak. After the pipes leak, often times there are major road repairs that need to be completed to make the road travelable again. 

The leaks have caused a loss of over a million gallons of water in a month. 

Another issue Mayor Eitelberg cited was the Department of Environmental Quality has been coming out with new regulations, making it almost impossible for the town to keep up. 

A new regulation is now forcing the mayor to send water samples seven days a week, a $4-$6,000 yearly expense. 

The town also needs to repaint and clean the water storage tank as well as replace a few fire hydrants throughout town. 

On the sewage side of things, the river is washing the bank away at the lagoons. 

The town is currently trying to get grants in order to stabilize the bank, but Mayor Eitelberg said it would cost the town some money as well.  

John Weikel of Montana Rural Water Systems was on hand to put on a presentation he had previously given to the council.

Weikel walked through the reasons the rates needed to be increased.

“You are at this point now where you have this infrastructure that has to be replaced and there’s no money to do it with,” Weikel said. 

Some in attendance saw why this was needed, while others thought there were different solutions for the problem.

Charlotte Buljung understood why the rate increases were proposed. 

“I just want to say that I appreciate seeing the figures and I appreciate the explanation that’s been given,” Buljung said. “It’s obvious that in our current structure we are not covering the true cost and base of the water.”

Weikel went on to explain that according to the 2000 census data, based on the economic status of Plains, the state says the combined rate should be $50.47. The 2010 census data said the town should be paying around $53.66 for both water and sewer. Even with the increase, Plains will be paying less than what the 2000 census states the town should be paying.

Vinny Daniel, a resident of Plains, noted for the record that he did not disagree with taking the 5000 gallon allotment away, however, he did have a problem with such a high base rate increase. 

“You ought to charge for what you use and each year schedule for a cost of living increase,” Daniel said.