Harlingen approves boosting water rates by 50% within 5 years

HARLINGEN — After months of debate, city commissioners are boosting water rates by about 50% over a five-year period to help fund a $130 million sewer system overhaul, with Harlingen Housing Authority residents getting $25 monthly discounts.

Starting in May, the city’s raising its minimum monthly charges for customers on 5/8-inch water meters from the current $7.93 to $9.91 by May then to $23.23 by 2028.

As customers use more water, rates will climb.

The water rate hikes will increase average monthly bills from the current $30.58 to $33.58 by May then to $63.53 by 2028.

Meanwhile, the city’s monthly minimum sewer charge for customers on 5/8-inch meters will increase from the current $6.18 to $7.79 by May then to $19.63 by 2028.

Now, the city’s current minimum monthly water rate stands at $7.93 on a 5/8-inch meter, plus $1.65 for an additional 1,000 gallons, while the minimum sewer rate is set at $6.18 on a 5/8-inch meter, plus $3.66 for an additional 1,000 gallons, with average utility bills charging customers about $644 a year.

For years, the city’s water rates have ranked as the third lowest in the Rio Grande Valley, behind Edinburg and Mission.

During a Tuesday meeting, Commissioners Rene Perez, Ford Kinsley and Frank Morales voted to pass the new rate plan while giving about 1,000 housing authority residents $25 discounts, while Commissioners Michael Mezmar and Daniel Lopez voted against the proposal.

The revenue will help fund a $130 million sewer project aimed at upgrading the aging, overloaded system spurring some sewage spills, while expanding it to make room for future growth.

“I think this is going to benefit Harlingen residents for generations to come,” Mayor Norma Sepulveda said. “It’s something that needs to be done. We have to make the hard decisions.”

During discussion, Commissioner Frank Morales proposed commissioners support an alternative water rate plan coming with lower base fees.

“That would reduce how much everybody pays across the board,” he told commissioners. “My concern is, people — whether it’s 10% or 20 or 30% — are struggling to make it work right now. If you double the rate in five years, or triple in some cases, we’re going to put a major hurt on them.”

But commissioners argued the WaterWorks System’s proposed water rate plan would better fund the sewer project.

During a presentation, Tim Skoglund, WaterWorks’ general manager, said the discounts will force the average utility customer to pay about $1 more on bills by 2028.

Amid discussion, commissioners argued whether to give housing authority residents $25 monthly discounts.

“This is the most vulnerable population of our community and they deserve to have a voice on this commission and we want them to be able to transition out of housing and the way we do that is don’t give them additional bills that are going to further financially burden them so that they’re stuck in housing,” Sepulveda told commissioners.

“If we give them this increase, that might mean there’s no food on the table because they’ve got a higher bill,” she said. “If I have to pay a little bit more, then I’m OK with that. If they’re given a discount, it’s not going to be forever. It’s going to be while they’re in this situation where they’re struggling to get out of the situation that they’re in.”

During discussion, Perez pushed to give housing authority residents $25 discounts.

“I grew up in public housing. I know how families struggle,” he told commissioners. “I know my mom struggled when we lived there. If we can help a little bit, I think we should do it — better to help some than none.”

In response, Lopez argued giving discounts will force average customers to pay higher bills.

“So the rest of us are paying for that 1,000,” he said, referring to the housing authority’s 1,000 residents. “Not only are we paying for that 1,000 in water, we’re also paying for their housing, we’re supplementing their housing, we’re supplementing their wifi, we’re supplementing their power bills. I appreciate your point. That’s the counter view.”

Amid tense debate, Mezmar argued supporting discounts for housing authority residents favors them amid a population heavily made up of low-income residents.

“You’re picking and choosing your poor people that you love and the ones you don’t, and you have to treat everybody equally,” he told commissioners. “If you’re going to establish classes of people, you have to treat them all equally.”

While water rate revenue will help fund WaterWorks’ $130 million sewer overhaul, the agency’s requesting the Texas Water Development Board grant the city about $150 million, Skoglund has said.

For years, Skoglund’s been planning one of the city’s biggest projects aimed at overhauling the city’s aging sewer system to make room for future growth.

In November, he unveiled the $130 million project aimed at upgrading the sewer system in which pipes are overloading, spurring some sewage overflows.

The project includes the construction of a main “interceptor” pipeline while building a deeper lift station and installing gravity lines to replace old lift stations, he said.