The average residential water customer in Buffalo will see a $41 a year increase on their bill because of rate hikes approved by the Buffalo Water Board that went into effect Oct. 1.
Authority officials attributed the bulk of the increased costs to ongoing price hikes for chemicals and higher rates for outside contractors, plus ongoing commitment to upgrade the county’s water treatment and supply system.
The average Buffalo residential customer paid $411 a year for water before the hike, and will now pay $452 annually, a 9.9% increase.
That increase, which is based on consumption of 70,000 gallons of water, includes the capacity charge and consumption rates that 68,000 city households pay.
The rate hike will affect roughly 90% of Buffalo’s water customers who have meters to track their usage, said Oluwole McFoy, chairman of the Buffalo Water Board.
The city’s last water rate increase was in 2019.
The reason for restructuring the water fees and rates is due to inflation associated with project costs, McFoy said.
“We have seen an increase in inflation, which has also made our capital projects more expensive, and so, when we project out how much money we have to spend to continue to renew our system, that’s what we take into account,” he said….
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