Raleigh mayor proposes raising water rate 50%

RALEIGH -- Saying that Raleigh's water shortage will become urgent if rains don't arrive before summer, Mayor Charles Meeker put forward a flurry of proposals Monday designed to drastically reduce water consumption.

Meeker will ask the City Council today to temporarily increase Raleigh's water rate 50 percent. That would add about $178 to the annual water bill of a typical single-family home.

The rate increase, which would apply to all water consumed after March 1, is already raising concerns about whether it is fair.

"I applaud the mayor. I just think we need to take a look at this plan and make sure we're not doing anything to harm the people who are working hard to conserve, especially seniors and those on fixed income," council member Nancy McFarlane said.

City Manager Russell Allen said the measures are short-term and warranted, with Falls Lake at unprecedented low levels for this time of year.

"This gives people enough time to put in measures to offset the increase," Allen said.

But some residents questioned whether this drastic step was at least partially caused by the city's slow response last summer when the drought first took hold.

"It seems like we needed to start earlier," said North Raleigh resident Liz Carr, noting that officials waited until October to ban most outdoor watering.

The surcharge would remain in place as long as the drought lasted and would apply to customers in the six towns to which Raleigh sells water. Those customers would be charged the same dollar amount as Raleigh customers, but it would not be a 50 percent surcharge for them because their rates are higher.

Meeker argues that Raleigh's water rates are lower than those in many other towns and that the surcharge will make them similar.

He said homeowners can offset the cost by using less water. "The point is to try to get everybody to cut back usage," Meeker said.

The mayor is also asking all homeowners, businesses and apartment owners to make a good-faith effort to install low-flow shower heads and faucets by March 1. Meeker said the city will start a program to help low-income residents buy the devices, but details were not available Monday.

Meeker's most ambitious proposal is to ask residential users to limit consumption to 25 gallons each per day, or about one-third of what the average Raleigh resident consumes each day. Meeker said water customers should assume that water for lawns will not be available in 2008 and that rain barrels should be used for bushes, flowers and vegetables.

Bill Holman, a senior fellow at Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, said Meeker's goal is ambitious, particularly for the Southeast. "It's taken places like Seattle a number of years to get there, but I think it's a good goal," he said.

Gov. Mike Easley made a similar call in late October, asking North Carolinians to cut their water use in half.

Drought conditions in the Triangle continue to be "exceptional," the worst category reported by the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Raleigh has 120 days of water remaining in Falls Lake, and officials are worried that the reservoir will not refill by summer, when daily usage is highest.

"We're in a position that we have to do something drastic, in part to get people's attention," council woman Mary-Ann Baldwin said.

Meeker's proposals drew mixed reactions from Raleigh water customers.

Jeff Burns said he doesn't understand why the surcharge doesn't kick in after a customer has consumed a certain amount of water.

"Figure out what an excessive water user would be and then start it there," said Burns, 36, who lives in North Raleigh with his wife and newborn. "Otherwise you're punishing people who have been doing what you asked all along."

Meeker admitted that a system in which rates rise with water use would be preferable, but the city's computer software won't accommodate that. He said he hoped the city would be able to start a tiered system within 18 months.

Meeker admitted that even his household hasn't achieved 25 gallons per person per day.

"Part of the point is that everybody needs to work at it," he said.