Eau Claire City Council Approves Water Utility Rate Hike

The Eau Claire City Council voted to officially approve increasing water utility rates at its meeting this week.

The Wisconsin Public Service Commission officially approved the City’s application to raise water utility rates earlier this year after determining that it was financially necessary. The application requested approval for a rate hike of roughly 20 percent to cover the cost of critical infrastructure improvements made over recent years.

The most significant of those infrastructure improvements is the new $20 million PFAS removal facility at the water treatment plant. Since detecting the forever chemcials in the drinking water supply back in 2020, the City of Eau Claire has spent years working to eliminate them.

City officials began planning the facility hoping that most of the cost would be covered by various legal settlements with manufacturers found responsible for PFAS contamination. In September, the City received its first portion of a nearly $9.5 million settlement with 3M over the forever chemicals. The full $9.5 million settlement will be paid out in installments through 2033.

Combined with other legal settlements, City officials estimate they’ll also bring in over $12 million in total. The 20 percent water utility rate increase is meant to cover the gap between the $20 million total cost of the PFAS removal facility as well as its general operations.

On Tuesday, the Eau Claire City Council voted 8-2 to approve the increased rate. Council members Larry Mboga and Andrew Werthmann voted against the measure. With approval from the City Council, the new water utility rates will officially go into effect on April 1st.