The City of Santa Fe is implementing a price increase for our wastewater utlitiy rates.
A combination of aging infrastructure and only a single increase to wastewater rates since 2010 means that the wastewater utility needs additional revenue to ensure our ability to reliably treat wastewater to required water quality levels for decades to come. This rate increase is designed to provide the financial resources necessary to rebuild or replace some or all of the existing wastewater treatment plant.
For the average wastewater customer, who uses 2800 gallons of water in the winter (winter use is used as a proxy for indoor use throughout the year and is how wastewater rates are determined), the wastewater bill will rise by almost $1 per month starting in July. The same increase will occur again in July of 2026, and again each of the subsequent eight years such that in July of 2034 the average wastewater bill will be approximately $9 per month larger than it was at the beginning of 2025.
Other options for revenue are constantly being explored by wastewater staff, and to date we have obtained $1.6 million in state grant money, and $114 million in nearly zero interest loans also from the state. However, to date we have not found a way to meet our infrastructure needs at the wastewater treatment plant without relying heavily on our wastewater utility customers.
The wastewater rate increase will start in July, and City staff will follow that with a recommendation to the governing body to increase water rates in January of 2026. For the average water customer, who uses about 4,200 gallons per month, the water rate is expected to rise almost $2 per month in January, and each of the next four years so that by January of 2030 the average water bill will also be approximately $9 per month larger than it was at the beginning of 2025. In combination, the average water and wastewater bill will be $18 per month larger in July of 2034 than it was in 2025. It is worth noting that this amount will still be less than an inflation adjusted average bill from 2013. Stay tuned, more details on that proposed water rate increase and the reasons for it will be forthcoming.