Baltimore City DPW proposes multi-year increase in water, sewer utility rates

BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) is proposing a rate adjustment that would increase utility prices for residents over three years.

If approved, Baltimore City households would see a 9.66% rise in their monthly water bill starting on February 1, 2025. For example, a water bill that is currently $130.15 will increase to $142.73 per month.

"I'm already mad at how high it is, so yeah, that's not good," said Baltimore resident Erica.

The proposed changes are aimed at maintaining the financial stability of the city's aging water and wastewater system, according to DPW officials. The price increase will support investments that are used to meet federal and state standards and rising costs driven by inflation.  

"These are over 100-year-old infrastructure all around the city," said DPW Director Khalil Zaied. "It costs a lot of money to do, it's unpopular to increase the rate at this point, but it is something that we have to do."

On December 18, DPW will present the proposal to the Board of Estimates, recommending a 3% increase in water rates and a 15% increase in sewer rates, officials said. This would impact all water and sewer customers in the city. 

Under the proposal, a 9.66% increase would be implemented for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, an 8.4% increase would be implemented in FY26 and another 8.4% increase would be implemented for FY27. 

DPW will request that the spending board vote on the proposal on January 22, 2025.  

Officials said the department is launching a $1.9 billion, six-year improvement program to address some critical infrastructure needs. The plan will focus on replacing water mains, reducing sewer overflows and modernizing operations.  

"This rate increase is a critical component of our comprehensive strategy to safeguard the safety, reliability, and quality of the services we deliver," Zaied said. "The adjustment is necessary to address rising costs driven by inflation and evolving regulatory requirements."  

To help mitigate the financial impact of inflation, DPW implemented a departmental spending freeze to conserve resources, according to officials. 

"...raising rates is a prudent step to safeguard what we have built and ensure the continued success of critical infrastructure projects," DPW officials said in a statement. 

Baltimore City residents who may need help managing their water bills can utilize programs such as Water4All and PromisePay.  

"As long as it's a quality thing, if quality is going up, if it's something that we need, that the city needs, then we're willing to invest in that," Baltimore resident Michael said.

DPW will also host six community meetings to help city residents. The meetings will be held on the following dates:  

• A Northwest Commanders meeting will be held in a hybrid format on January 9 at 7 p.m. at the Northwest Police District 
• A Northwest Community Organizations meeting will be held virtually on January 11 at 10 a.m. 
• A meeting will be held in person at the War Memorial on January 15 at 6 p.m. 
• A Southwest Community Meeting will be held in hybrid format on January 21 at 6 p.m. (the location is to be determined) 
• A Southwest Commanders meeting will be held in a hybrid format on January 28 at 7 p.m. at the Southwest Police District 

Previous Billing Issues 

In 2022, an audit found that Baltimore City DPW struggled with billing and collection issues due to a lack of processes.  

The city auditor found that the city did not take proactive measures to increase revenue collections and did not have procedures in place to collect from delinquent accounts.  

The report recommended that DPW collect its data more accurately and share those numbers with city officials to consider ways to increase revenue collection.  

The report was the initial phase in a comprehensive water billing review.