Courtesy Xochitl Mora,

Increase goes into effect October 1, includes base fee and use tiered structure

McAllen, TX)  At Monday night’s joint McAllen City Commission and McAllen Public Utility meeting, both governing bodies separately approved a rate increase for water and sewer. 

The increase, which goes into effect on October 1 includes an increase to the water and sewer monthly base fee for all customers, as well as a tiered structure increase based on usage.  The base rate increase for the water service is $0.50, while the base rate increase for the sewer service is also at $0.50.  The increase in water usage fee is two-tiered with an increase after the first 20,000 gallons of water usage.

“The rate increase helps to cover the costs of additional debt that the McAllen Public Utility will incur for improvements and construction costs related to the South Water Treatment Plant, the North Waste Water Treatment Plant and capital improvement projects,” said Mark Vega, General Manager for the MPU.  “While we understand customers will feel a slight increase in their monthly service payment, the McAllen Public Utility rate is still one of the lowest in the Rio Grande Valley and even the state of Texas.  The increase helps us to manage the growth McAllen is experiencing and provide not only quality service, but also and just as importantly, good clean water.”

The tiered structure usage for both the water and sewer will most impact high-end users, such as commercial establishments.  For a residential account with the average water consumption of 10,000 gallons, the water and sewer bill will increase by $1.60.

“Sometimes, increases are necessary and we wanted to make sure that the cost increase was fairly distributed to those that use more, pay more,” said City of McAllen Mayor Jim Darling.  “Any increase in service fees, whether they are base fees or usage fees, is something that both the McAllen City Commission and the McAllen Public Utility Board take seriously because neither entity want to significantly impact customers.”

The rate increase will go into effect this October 1; however, some customers will see this increase reflected in their October bill, when some meters are read on October 13.

Rates were last raised for the utility service in 2015.

For more information, contact the McAllen Public Utility at (956) 681-1600, (956) 681-1717 on weekends or visit www.mcallenpublicutility.com.