Valuable services are lifeblood of our communities
Message from Tom Kula, Executive Director:
We’re in a period of significant investment for our water and wastewater systems. Daily headlines highlight the booming growth and economic prosperity happening in our region. The services we provide at NTMWD are the lifeblood of our communities’ continued vitality.
As pipes age, regulations increase and communities grow, we must act responsibly to continue providing safe, reliable supplies and essential services for North Texans. Greater investments are required to keep our regional systems in good working condition and build projects to meet our growing cities’ needs.
Each year, we develop a budget to cover our projected capital and operating costs for the coming fiscal year. Capital costs include engineering and construction projects, equipment, and debt repayment. Operating costs include items such as chemicals for treatment, power for pumping, labor, supplies and maintenance work. As the regional wholesale service provider for water, wastewater and solid waste, we must collect adequate funding from our participating cities to cover these costs.
We’ve compiled a Fiscal Year 2017 Budget and Rates Summary highlighting key components, as well as historic and planned projects. In this summary, you’ll see that for many years in the 1990s rates were held flat, even while our communities experienced significant growth. While we can sometimes defer projects, there comes a time when further delays present too much risk, and we must raise rates or charges to invest in the most important projects to increase capacity or supplies, repair aging infrastructure, comply with regulations, and protect our resources. Yet, even while we’ve increased rates to cover these growing costs, a gallon of treated water delivered to our cities still only costs a quarter of a penny.
On September 15, the Value of Water Coalition is leading a national campaign called “Imagine a Day Without Water” to increase awareness and appreciation of this vital resource in our daily lives. Please take a few moments to think about all the things in your life that requires safe, reliable water: coffee, showers, dishes, laundry, landscapes… and the list goes on. Or, don’t think about it at all, and we’ll still make sure you’ve got water flowing from your tap and flushing down your drains. That’s our job, and we’re proud to serve you and all the 1.6 million North Texans who rely on the services we provide.