Las Vegas water district holds public workshops on rate hike proposal

Starting Wednesday, the Las Vegas Valley Water District will hold two community workshops for residents with questions and, more likely, complaints about a proposed rate increase.

Wednesday’s workshop will be held at 5:30 p.m. at Sahara West Public Library at 9600 W. Sahara Ave. That will be followed by a workshop at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 13, at the Clark County Public Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road.

The proposed rate hike would raise the average residential monthly water bill by 75 cents beginning in February to fund maintenance, repair and upgrades to the district’s distribution system.

The district’s board of directors is expected to vote on the increase in January.

If approved, the district’s tiered consumption rates and service charges would rise by 3 percent on Feb. 1 and increase by another 3 percent Jan. 1, 2018. On Jan. 1, 2019 and in future years, rates and service charges would be adjusted for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index, with hikes limited to between 1.5 percent and 4.5 percent.

The water district has a rate calculator on its website that allows customers to plug in their account type, meter size and water usage to determine what their bills will be under the new rate schedule.

The district is Nevada’s largest water utility, serving more than 1.2 million people. Its distribution system includes dozens of reservoirs and pumping stations connected by roughly 6,500 miles of water mains and service lines, including some that are now more than 50 years old and in need of upgrade or replacement.

The district already held one community workshop on the rate hike on Nov. 14 at the utility’s headquarters on Valley View and Charleston boulevards.

Contact Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350. Follow @RefriedBrean on Twitter.