Wholesale water and wastewater rates to be adjusted and solid waste rates unchanged
At their regular meeting held on Sept. 28, the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) Board of Directors adopted the fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget developed to navigate the challenges of a rising economy while still providing high-quality, essential services to 2.2 million North Texans. NTMWD continues its commitment to strong financial stewardship which plans for the sustained, high levels of population growth our region continues to experience.
“The FY24 budget reflects our future-facing commitment to provide essential services to our growing population now and well into the future,” said Jenna Covington, NTMWD Executive Director and General Manager. “NTMWD has been preparing for this current growth we are experiencing now for decades, and we will continue this careful, proactive approach to ensure uninterrupted delivery of water, wastewater, and solid waste service.”
Approximately fifty-five thousand residents per year move to NTMWD’s service area. This rising population requires more water and more infrastructure to sustain the delivery of that water. The recent completion of Bois d’Arc Lake and Leonard Water Treatment Plant after decades of planning, development, and construction provides a new, core source of water and water treatment for North Texas. NTMWD communities are also seeing tremendous economic development growth with new major multi-use developments, large data centers, sports facilities, and landscaped open space, all of which require access to safe drinking water, reliable wastewater services, and proper disposal of solid waste. The impacts are reflected in the projected 117 to 122 billion gallons of water NTMWD treated and distributed over the past twelve months potentially setting another record for the District and its Member Cities and Customers should those demands be realized. NTMWD conveys and treats approximately 44 billion gallons of wastewater annually and manages around 1 million tons of solid waste that is disposed of each year.
The approved budget of $743.4 million includes dedicating nearly 17 percent ($123.9M) for personnel who are critical for around-the-clock operations and administration of the water, wastewater, and solid waste systems. Approximately 32 percent ($239.3M) funds the District’s overall supplies and services needed, and the remaining 51 percent ($380M) is allocated for planning and capital improvement projects including those needed for anticipated future growth, maintenance of aging infrastructure, and regulatory requirements.
The District continues to navigate a challenging rising economic environment including ongoing supply chain issues, rising construction and electrical component costs, a highly competitive labor market, and higher interest rates. The NTMWD Board of Directors and Staff work diligently to meet the District’s contractual obligation to the participating cities and utilities with reasonable costs in all systems while maintaining our commitment to protect public health and the environment. NTMWD remains in a sound financial condition.
The FY24 budget requires rate adjustments to the regional wholesale water (9 percent increase). The rates for regional wastewater services will see an 11 percent increase, and the wholesale solid waste services rates remain unchanged.
“We have an unwavering commitment to providing essential, safe drinking water reliably day after day, no matter the challenge,” Covington added. “NTMWD staff work diligently to be good stewards of our budget and continually look for ways to be more cost-effective with the resources entrusted to us in order to protect our most precious shared natural resources.”
The FY24 budget goes into effect on October 1, 2023. More details are available online at www.NTMWD.com.