Information on New Utility Rates

Read the Report to the City Council

Water and wastewater utility rates will be increasing in January 2025.  The revenue from these increases is necessary to construct critical water and wastewater infrastructure to ensure Sandy residents can continue to have access to safe and reliable drinking water into the future, and to fulfill the legal requirements of Sandy’s wastewater consent decree with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Environmental Quality. 

The Cost of Stringent Regulations

Sandy is subject to stricter wastewater regulations than almost any other city in Oregon. The state requires Sandy to comply with the Three Basin Rule, which raises the cost of the wastewater improvements we have to construct by at least $60 million.  Unfortunately, these extra requirements do not come with any additional state funding.  The estimated total cost of our wastewater improvements is over $200 million.  More information on the Three Basin Rule is available here.

With regard to drinking water, the EPA and the Oregon Health Authority are requiring that Bull Run water (Sandy’s critical supplemental water source) must be filtered to protect against cryptosporidium, resulting in the need to construct a new filtration plant.  This in turn requires construction of new transmission infrastructure to ensure Sandy can continue to access Bull Run water.  Similar to wastewater, these expensive regulations do not come with any additional funding. Simultaneously, Sandy is investing in our primary Alder Creek water source to protect our water supply and minimize the need to purchase supplemental Bull Run water over the long term.  The estimated total cost of our drinking water improvements is $70 million.

What Will This Mean for My Bill?

The January 2025 rate increases will be 36% for fresh water, 16% for wastewater, and $2 for stormwater.  The average residential utility bill will increase by about $36.  The increase on your bill may be different based on consumption.  You should expect the new rates to be reflected on the bill you receive in January. 

Sandy has been successful in securing a variety of grants and low interest loans to finance the needed projects. However, to qualify for this favorable financing, the City must demonstrate that our utility rates are sufficient to make the required loan payments. The City is pursuing increasing system development charges paid by new construction projects to ensure that new development is paying for its impact on the system. 

What Can I Do?

We regret the need to raise rates, and we understand that higher rates have a meaningful impact on our community.  In light of that fact, we want to assure our residents of two things: (1) we will be strenuously making the case to the state legislature and others that Sandy needs funding assistance to ease the financial burden that these required projects are placing on our residents, and (2) we have carefully evaluated the possible construction alternatives and have developed our capital improvement plan with a desire to make public dollars go as far as possible.

• Contact Your Legislator
  If you are interested in adding your voice to the call for state funding assistance for Sandy’s required infrastructure improvements, we encourage you to do so.  You can find your elected state representatives’ contact information contact information on this webpage.
   
• Assistance Program
  The City of Sandy offers a Utility Assistance program for low-income households.  For more information click here.
   
• Water Conservation
  There are also many ways you can reduce your water consumption and lower your bill significantly.  Things like leaky toilets, old appliances, long showers, and inefficient sprinklers all use surprising amounts of water.  Here are 10 tips for lowering consumption indoors; and 10 more tips for lowering consumption outdoors.

Learn More

You can learn more about Sandy’s infrastructure reinvestment projects on the Public Works section of our website.  You can also review past City Council meetings, and get information on attending future meetings and providing public comments on our meetings portal.

As always, if you have questions about your bill, please feel free to contact us at (503) 668-7449 or Utilitybilling@ci.sandy.or.us.