Henderson water bills to increase next year

Water bills in Henderson will go up again starting next year.

City Council members who were present on Tuesday voted unanimously to increase rates and service charges for water use. Councilman Dan Shaw was absent.

The vote means bills for residential users will increase an average of 3 percent every year through 2025. The changes go into effect Jan. 1.

Priscilla Howell, Henderson’s director of utility services, said the city expects the median home’s monthly water bill to go up by about $2 every year during that period.

The amount of water that can be used before residential properties reach a more expensive tier of usage will remain the same for nearly all homes in Henderson, but homeowners with water meters larger than ¾ of an inch will see a reduction in the amount of water they can consume before the next tier of pricing kicks in.

Howell told the Las Vegas Review-Journal her department is facing rising costs of things such as water, power and chemicals. The bill increases for ratepayers will help cover those rising costs.

And without the rate increases or additional bonds, in fiscal year 2026, the utility budget would drop below the minimum reserve balance required by the city, Howell told council members. The reserve would then dip into the negative two years later, she said.

Even with the new rates, the reserve funds are expected to reach negative territory by fiscal year 2030.

Howell told the Review-Journal the city wants to implement smaller increases on a routine basis so that ratepayers won’t see large jumps in their bills.

The new Henderson charges will be in addition to increased Southern Nevada Water Authority charges that also start next year. The water authority’s bill increases will help pay for a slate of projects.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.