Water bills to rise as 28-mile waterline construction nears

A long-term solution to a reliable source of water may come at a cost for Cameron residents.

Following a recommendation by Public Utilities Director Zach Johnson, the Cameron City Council will vote whether to increase water rates at its September 7 meeting after passing the item out of public hearing earlier this month.

“Looking at our rate structure, we’re probably looking at an increase of $20 per 5,000 gallons for our average citizen,” Johnson said. “That is going to put our rates at $65 per gallons. That is a little higher than a few of our surrounding communities. There are communities that are higher than that.”

The rate increase comes as a result of upcoming 28-mile waterline, a joint project through Cameron, Stewartsville and Maysville to provide a reliable water source after a 2018 drought forced many Missouri communities to practice water rationing. With representatives from all three municipalities, they created the Great Northwest Wholesale Water Commission. The GNWWC then set the new water rates covering waterline construction costs. 

Johnson estimated the average citizen uses approximately 3,500 gallon of water per month and forecasts rates reaching as high as $68 per 5,000 gallons by 2023. Although bearing most of the responsibility for paying the debt associated with the waterline’s construction, Johnson said Stewartsville and Maysville will bear some responsibility as well and may see a significantly larger increase in their citizens’ water bills as well.

“Maysville and Stewartsville will both see a big spike in their utilities. Ours will actually be a little bit less because we have more commercial customers. A little bit of industry will help that burden on our customers. All of those other communities will see a bigger jump.

Johnson said the City of Maysville may not see as large of a spike because its water treatment plant because the waterline will make it redundant, thus saving the municipality the cost of operating the facility. With Cameron owning 86 percent of the waterline, it could begin negotiating with municipalities to the east to hook onto the line and create another source of revenue for Cameron. As a result, water rates will decline over time.

“Ultimately, the end goal is to have something similar to a coop, where you have an integrated system through Northwest Missouri and all communities are essentially tied together,” Johnson said. “I give credit to the previous council that Cameron agreed to pay an additional cost to upsize this line to meet our full need in 50 years. The USDA only funds current need … Cameron has a bigger piece of that pie in the way it was divided for debt service because of the extra income for the City of Cameron. The City of Cameron has positioned itself well.”

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