FORT SMITH, Ark. — New water rates in Fort Smith have some residents doing a double take.
The Fort Smith Board of Directors voted 5-2 on a water rate increase at a special meeting on July 11. Those new rates took effect Aug. 1, the first rate raise since 2011.
Josh Buchfink, public relations manager for the City of Fort Smith, said their cost of business has gone up, so now their rates have to.
"We've noticed that the cost of all the materials, the cost of chemicals, the cost of labor, minimum wage, those things have gone up over time, but our rates haven't gone up alongside those things," Buchfink said. "We needed to increase rates, basically, to keep operating, to stay to give people clean, safe drinking water."
He said the increase to most users would be anywhere from a $2 to $5 increase.
"The decision that they came up with had a less impact on our lowest users. So what I mean by lowest? I mean, people that use between 1 and 5 CCF would be impacted less than somebody using 12 CCF," Buchfink said. "Nobody wants a rate increase. Nobody wants to pay more for water. But I do want my water to be there. I want it to be safe. I want it to be clean."
However, Dana Bergstrom has lived in her house in Fort Smith for a few months and every month, her bill is around $200.
"Which I thought was really high, but new to the area I thought, 'okay, this is what it's going to cost to live in a nice house in a nice neighborhood,'" Bergstrom said.
Bergstrom opened her bill on Thursday and said that with the new rate increase, it was $456. She said she lives with only one other person and her usage didn't go up from month to month, but she said her bill went up 74%.
"My heart started racing like crazy. I thought, 'oh my gosh, what have we done? They must have made a mistake,'" Bergstrom said. "We're just trying to live and just get up, take a shower, go to work, exercise, do laundry. Nothing extravagant."
She said she's now thinking about making some sacrifices if her bill stays this high.
"I finally have a house that I love, but I don't know if I can afford to stay in it with the utilities," Bergstrom said. "There's no way I would have agreed if, when I bought this house, they said, 'oh, your water bill is going to be $456 a month.'"
Buchfink said if any residents see a bill they think is too high, he recommends calling Citizen Services at 479-784-2262.
"Tell us about your situation. Maybe it is a leak at your home, and we can come out and inspect it, see if it's on the city side, see if it's something that can be taken care of for you," Buchfink said. "I know people are struggling, and I know that the cost of groceries, I know that the cost of buying a home, interest rates are high right now. All those things are up. But our cost of doing business because of that has gone up too, and so what we're simply trying to do is cover those costs too."
Buchfink also recommends applying for Project Concern, which is a program that assists low-income residential water utilities customers. Residents who qualify see a 50% discount on water and sewer services, as well as a 25% discount on solid waste services. Residents can submit their applications by mail, email, or in person at the Water Utilities Department.
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