For the Hub City Times

MARSHFIELD – Marshfield Utilities (MU) has filed a simplified water rate case with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW). The PSCW allows water utilities to file simplified rate cases, which provides an increase of 3 percent in the water rates to cover increasing costs for day-to-day operations associated with inflation. The new rates will be effective on the August 2019 bills.

The average residential water bill is currently $28.25 per month.  With the 3 percent increase, the water bill will increase $0.83 per month or less than $0.03 per day.

The public fire protection charge based on the value of the property will also increase by 3 percent. Customers with a property valued at $100,000 would see $0.20 monthly increase. The public fire protection charge recovers the cost of extra capacity built into the water system necessary to deliver a large volume of water to fight a fire.

“Customers rely on the water we provide to complete so many daily tasks including flushing the toilet, washing their hands, taking a shower, and washing the car to name a few” shares MU General Manager Nicolas Kumm. “MU’s goal is to provide value to their customers. On average each day, a residential customer uses about 120 gallons of water for about a $1. The small increase in rates will support infrastructure replacement like water main & service lines and cover increasing cost for operation & maintenance of the entire water system.”