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1. How much more per gallon will the development of the Drinking Water Treatment Facility cost me?

Estimates indicate residential users would pay $0.0023 more per gallon.

2. How much is my water bill increasing because of the Drinking Water Treatment Facility development?

The increase depends directly on the amount of water used by the customer. If a commercial account uses a lot of water, its cost will be higher than that of an individual who uses a smaller quantity. Estimates indicate a Drinking Water Treatment Facility will add an average of $1 a day to a typical residential municipal water account. The rate increases are used to pay back a 30-year loan used to build the facility, as well as ongoing maintenance and operation costs.

3. How do the expected “new” rates compare to Mid Dakota, Mni Wiconi?

Water rates include a base charge and a volumetric charge (charge per unit of water used).  Based on a customer using 6,000 gallons per month (8 ccf) the new single family monthly cost would be approximately $51 per month.  For the same volume of water used, Mid-Dakota’s residential cost (2018) would be approximately $69 per month.  

Since Mni Wiconi provides water to consecutive rural water systems and does not provide water to individual customers, Mni Wiconi does not have published comparable residential rates.

4. How much money will the city have to put into its existing wells or new wells to ensure a stable water source over the next 30 years / the estimated life of the water treatment plant?

If the Drinking Water Treatment Facility is not realized, the City will need to invest between $2 and $3 million, to construct new wells and update existing wells.