At their recent monthly meeting , the Powdersville Water District Board of Directors approved a 5.5 percent rate increase for retail customers that will become effective with the January, 2012 billing.

The recommendation for the increase was the result of the District’s annual budget and rate modeling process.

Each year the District completes an annual update of its comprehensive Financial Plan and Rate Model to ensure that rates are adequate to cover projected expenses for the coming year. This process takes into account not only the ongoing expenses of operating the system on a day-to-day basis but also debt service costs and any planned capital improvements.

The rate increase was driven by four key factors:

The District’s three wholesale water suppliers’ each plan to increase their rates in the coming year, which will increase the price of the water entering PWD’s system.

Approximately $200,000 of utility relocation work will be necessary due to new road construction that has been forecasted for 2012 by SCDOT and the Anderson and Pickens County Transportation Departments .

The District continues to fund several upgrades to the water distribution system to provide a better level of service to all customers.

Normal operating expense categories, such as fuel, electricity and materials costs, increased during 2011.

“We have worked diligently to keep the increase as low as possible this year”, Phil Landreth, Board Chairman said. “We know that these are tough economic times, but the increase is necessary to maintain the current level of service to our customers. “

With the increase, PWD water rates remain average when compared to other similar sized utilities across the Upstate. A typical PWD residential customer who uses 6,000 gallons per month can expect to pay $31.69 per month with the new rate in place.