KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM) — Rates will be going up 8% for all Kalamazoo City water customers after the first of the year to start financing infrastructure improvements needed to keep the system operating and healthy.
Commissioner Dave Anderson says Michiganders are keenly aware of what can happen when water systems fail.
Even after the hikes are in place, Kalamazoo, and all the other local municipalities who use the system will still have some of the lowest rates in the state.
The city’s rate consultant is recommending 9% hikes each year for the next three years to provide the system with the money it needs to replace thousands of lead service lines and miles of aging water mains that are reaching the end of their useful lives.
Those hikes were not part of this proposal but will be considered at a later date.
