A lush lawn is going to require homeowners to pay the Fort Worth Water Department a little more green this year.
A rate increase that will likely cost the average residential customer an additional $5.42 a month went into effect Jan. 1.
Much of the hike is to cover the increased cost of raw water purchased from the Tarrant Regional Water District said Mary Gugliuzza, media relations and communications coordinator for the Fort Worth Water Department.
The department’s budget increased $10.8 million this year, with $7.86 million due to the rising raw water rates said Gugliuzza. The Fort Worth City Council approved the department’s budget and the increase in September.
In November, the department sent customers a notice of the changes, but Fort Worth resident and water department customer Jim Carson said he wasn’t aware of the increase.
“I didn’t know that was happening,” he said. “I’m not surprised though, every year there’s an increase for one reason or another.”
Gugliuzza said annual increases are typical.
The increase amount will depend on the amount of water customers use, some may see a larger increase than others.
“Those that are very efficient in their water use may not see any real impact,” said Gugliuzza, “It just really depends on a customer’s water usage the amount of impact they will see.”