Water usage falls, but bills rise

For years, utilities, governments and water managers trumpeted the same message when it came to water: conserve.

Use less water, they said. Preserve the resource and the environment.

Residents listened. Water use dropped.

The result? Our water bills are going up.

Utilities are selling less water, which means revenues are falling. When that happens, utilities say, they have to raise rates to meet fixed expenses such as debt for construction, utilities and operational costs.

"It's a difficult message - saying, 'Thank you for conserving, but now we have to charge you more,'" said Michelle Van Dyke, spokeswoman for Hillsborough Water Services, which provides water to about 500,000 people.

The region's wholesale water supplier expects to boost what it charges public utilities in the Tampa Bay area, though it's still studying how much the increase will be.

Customers of Hillsborough County's water system already saw an increase of nearly 2 percent in their November bills and might see further increases each year.

Those residents also were hit with another increase amounting to an additional $1.08 a month for the average household to reflect an increase the wholesale price the county pays for water.

Conservation isn't solely to blame. The floundering economy and stumbling housing market also affected water consumption.

Utilities say it's tough to tell how much a conservation ethic contributed to the drop in demand.

"It's been a one-two punch with the economy tanking and all the foreclosures," Van Dyke said.

Still, the message people have heard for years about the ills of wasting water contributes to the situation.

Tampa's water department saw revenue from water sales fall by $3 million, or 9 percent, from Oct. 1, 2007, through Sept. 30, 2009.

But utilities don't intend to stop preaching the benefits of saving water.

"It was all done with the right motive and intent. We will continue to hammer the message," said Elias Franco, demand manager for the Tampa Water Department.

Hillsborough County also will not back off on urging people to conserve.

"We are always going to stress the importance of conservation. On the good side, people are extremely aware they need to save water," Van Dyke said.

That shouldn't be a surprise.

Residents in the Tampa Bay area have been limited to once weekly lawn watering since 2007 because of rainfall that remained stubbornly below normal for years.

Individual utilities and the Southwest Florida Water Management District constantly implored residents to cut back, especially last spring when water supplies were extremely tight.

Hillsborough's water department noticed a drop in demand and revenue a year ago that translated into a need to lop $5.3 million from the department's budget. Cuts included eliminating 17 positions and delaying construction projects. The department also increased rates by 1.7 percent. That amounted to 93 cents a month for households using 6,000 gallons a month, the amount the department considers average.

Increases could come every year, pegged on what the state Public Service Commission sets as the inflation rate.

The small annual increases might not be enough to avoid a larger bump, Van Dyke said.

Tampa Bay Water, the region's wholesale supplier, expects another increase in October, when its next budget goes into effect.

The regional utility is selling less water than anticipated. Tampa Bay Water expected to sell 176 million gallons a day to its six members: Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties, plus Tampa, St. Petersburg and New Port Richey.

Instead, the amount has been between 160 million gallons and 166 million gallons a day.

Any increase in the wholesale price could be passed on to customers in October.