Water district to raise base rates

A base rate increase is in store for customers of the Maricopa Domestic Water Improvement District.

The cost of infrastructure maintenance is a leading cause, office manager Sara Sheehan said.

A public hearing on the tentative budget including the new base rates is scheduled for June 17 at 5:30 p.m. at the district office, 19756 N. John Wayne Parkway, Suite 109.

“We haven’t had a rate increase since 2010,” Sheehan said, adding the increase is only on the base rate, not on the commodity.

MDWID is a public utility serving about 300 customers in the Heritage District of Maricopa. Sheehan said it also manages four other districts for a total of about 600 customers.

Original infrastructure was put in place in the 1980s with upgrades in the 1990s. Two big blows during the current budget year – a major leak on State Route 347 and a well failure – cost the district around $30,000, Sheehan said.

“We have to maintain the system and manage the four other districts,” she said. “We only have five employees, and they have to do a lot of driving.”

The base rate increases
Residential ¾-inch: from $22 to $25
Residential 1-inch: from $38 to $40
Residential 2-inch: from $55 to $60
Residential ¾-inch out of district: from $44 to $50
Residential 2-inch out of district: from $110 to $115
Commercial ¾-inch: from $75 to $80
Commercial 1-inch: from $75 to $80
Commercial 2-inch: from $75 to $80
Commercial ¾-inch out of district: from $75 to $80
Commercial 3-inch: from $110 to $115
Commercial 4-inch: from $165 to $170