Atlanta Water Bills on the Rise

By Martha Dalton

Atlanta – Atlanta residents will soon see another increase in their water bill. The city will raise rates 12 percent starting July first. WABE' Martha Dalton has the details.

This will be the eighth time in eight years the city has raised water rates. Janet Ward is a spokesperson for the Atlanta Department of Watershed Management:

"This is the last year of a 4-year rate package that was passed in 2008. And it was the second 4-year rate package. So, this is the last double-digit rate increase that we will see we believe."

The revenue will go toward overhauling the city's sewer system, which, Ward says, has been badly neglected over the years:

"People would complain about toilet paper and syringes and stuff like that washing up on the stream banks because the sewers would overflow. And we have made dramatic improvements to that system."

One of the biggest improvements, Ward says, has been a flexible pipe the city has placed inside the damaged sewer lines. She says that has dramatically reduced sewer overflows.