Stafford County water prices rising

— Uriah A. Kiser from press release

Published: July 2, 2008

STAFFORD — As the county encourages conservation, Stafford has increased the price of water throughout the county.

The Stafford County Board of Supervisors recently voted to increase the water fees paid by residential customers who use more than 20,000 thousand gallons of water per month. The ordinance went into effect July 1 and will be reflected on bills beginning August 1.

Residential customers who use more than 20,000 gallons in one month will be charged a rate of $23.55 per thousand gallons. Rates for use under 20,000 gallons per month are unchanged.

The rate increase will not affect more than 90 percent of water customers in the county. 

A study of water usage conducted by the Department of Utilities showed that last summer a small percentage of Stafford’s residential customers accounted for a disproportionate percentage of residential water usage. The average consumption for these high volume users was more than 30 thousand gallons compared to a typical household of three, which uses 6,000 gallons a month.

Residents who use more than 35,000 gallons will see an increase of more than 100 percent, with an estimated bill of more than $400 per month.

“The higher fees are necessary to emphasize the critical importance of water conservation during the summer months, particularly among high volume residential users,” said Acting Director of Utilities Dale Allen in a released statement. “The increase is in response to ‘excessive discretionary’ water demands, especially for customers who use a high volume of water outside of their residences to irrigate landscaping and yards, and to fill pools.”

Customers with irrigation meters will also see an increase, with the price rising from $9 to a bulk rate of $13.

Michele Lansford of Stafford’s public information office, said the changing rate is comparable with other Northern Virginia jurisdictions and will eliminate perceived discount for bulk water purchased in Stafford.

County officials still encourage residents to conserve water.