Hey Bucks County, Your Household Water Bill May Go Up (By a LOT) On Thursday!
Ugh. Inflation keeps hitting us in our pockets across the area and across the country, and that's about to be true in a new way for nearly a half-million Pennsylvanians, including a large number of Bucks County residents.
Aqua Pennsylvania will reportedly increase the cost of water and wastewater. The rate hikes, which were posted by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission on Monday, could take effect as early as this Thursday (May 19).
Aqua says that they'll increase the cost of water by about 10% as they battle rising infrastructure costs. But how much will that actually cost YOU?
Well, The Philadelphia Inquirer broke it down in today's reporting. and they say that a typical customer uses 4,000 gallons of water a month. That currently costs $69.35.
So... we did the math.
That means your household bill would officially cross the $75 mark to be just about $76. A proposal filed back in August actually called for a higher rate increase. At that time, they estimated the bill could go up to $81.
So, ugh, at the $76 water bill. Am I right? Because if you're like me, and enjoy showering too much... this means that one of life's simple pleasures has now been affected by inflation.
Some paperwork remains so these exact costs are estimates, but Aqua says they're finishing up the final details "later this week," according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
By the way, rates for Aqua's wastewater customers will increase by about 51%, according to published reports. However, that affects a much smaller percentage of customers as only 40,000 Pennsylvanians use that service.
So, wow, it'll literally cost more to FLUSH YOUR MONEY down the toilet in 2022.
By the way, if you were wondering.... what are they doing to upgrade the system? Keep scrolling to find out.
AQUA says that they'll continue to upgrade the infrastructure. This apparently will include upgrades to treatment plants (to meet new, more stringent water quality requirements), so that's good. Plus, they've planned cyber security upgrades and more, according to their parent company Essential Utilities.
So we hate to say it, but this may be necessary? But like, of course, it's happening when EVERYTHING else is so expensive already.