HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 27924-08-2025ORDINANCE NO. 27924-08-2025
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 35-56 (b), (c) and (d) OF
CHAPTER 35, "WATER AND SEWERS", OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF FORT WORTH (2015). AS AMENDED, BY REVISING
AND ADDING CERTAIN VOLUME RATES AND CHARGES;
MAKING THIS ORDINANCE CUMULATIVE OF PRIOR
ORDINANCES; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES AND
PROVISIONS OF THE FORT WORTH CITY CODE IN CONFLICT
HEREWITH; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH,
TEXAS:
SECTION 1.
That Section 35-56(b) of Chapter 35 of the Code of the City of Fort Worth (2015), as
amended, is hereby amended to read as follows:
(b) (1) The following schedule of rates per month, or fraction thereof, shall be the
charges to all residential and nonresidential customers for furnishing water to such
customers located within the city. The residential monthly volume charge for water
service shall be the charges to the residential class, as defined in this chapter, for
furnishing water to residential water customers located within the city. The
nonresidential monthly volume charge for water service shall be the charges to the
nonresidential customer classes, as defined in this chapter, for furnishing water to
nonresidential water customers located within the city.
RETAIL WATER RATES
Monthly Service Charge for Water
Meter Size (inches) Monthly charge
5/8 X 3/4
$13.75
3/4 X 3/4
$14.00
1
$29.05
1-1/2
$57.25
2
$89.35
3
$236.35
4
$404.85
6
$859.35
8
$1,501.15
10
$2,249.95
(2) The monthly volume charge for water service is as follows:
Residential Customer Class
Cubic Feet
Rate
First 600 or less cubic feet of water used
$2.28
per month, per 100 cubic feet
For the next 600 cubic feet of water used
$3.19
per month, per 100 cubic feet
For the next 1,200 cubic feet of water used
$4.29
per month, per 100 cubic feet
For all in excess of 2,400 cubic feet of
$5.37
water used per month, per 100 cubic feet
Commercial Customer Class
All usage of water used per month, per 100 cubic feet $2.78
Industrial Customer Class
All usage of water used per month, per 100 cubic feet $2.80
Irrigation Meters
First 10,000 or less cubic feet of water used $3.08
per month, per 100 cubic feet
For all in excess of 10,000 cubic feet of $4.13
water used per month, per 100 cubic feet
Gas Well Drillers
All usage of water used per month, per 100 cubic feet $5.85
per month
(3) The service charges set out in the foregoing schedules are based upon
the amount of water used as measured by meters.
SECTION 3.
That the monthly wastewater rates as described in Section 35-56(c) of Chapter 35 of the
Code of the City of Fort Worth (2015), as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows:
(1) Monthly Service Charge for Sewerage Service Only
Meter Size (inches)
5/8 X 3/4
3/4 X 3/4
1-1/2
2
n
6
8
10
12
Monthly charge
$7.90
$8.20
$14.55
$39.50
$63.20
$118.50
$197.50
$395.00
$632.00
$908.50
$1,698.50
(2) a. A monthly volume charge shall also be charged to residential customers in
the amount of four dollars and thirty cents ($4.30) per one hundred (100) cubic
feet of water used, and to nonresidential/non-monitored customers in the
amount of four dollars and twenty-five cents ($4.25) per one hundred (100)
cubic feet of water used, or wastewater produced, as more specifically set forth
hereinafter.
b. The monthly volume charges for residential class customers will be based
on the individual customer's average monthly water use during the preceding
winter quarter months of December, January and February. The volumes used
to compute these charges are based on the amount of water used by the
residential class customer as measured by a meter. Where no preceding winter
quarter average is available from records, the director shall estimate a volume
to be used for this monthly volume charge.
c. The monthly charges to the nonresidential/non-monitored customers will be
based on total water use as measured by appropriate meters, with the provision
that if a customer can prove, to the satisfaction of the director, that a significant
portion of the metered water usage does not enter the sanitary sewers, the
customer will be charged for only that volume entering the sewers, as
determined by a method approved by the director.
SECTION 4.
That the monthly volume rates for the monitored class as described in Section 35-56(d) of
Chapter 35 of the Code of the City of Fort Worth (2015), as amended, is hereby amended
to read as follows:
(1) The director shall establish a monitored group class, consisting of those
customers whose wastewater strength is, in his or her judgment, abnormally high or whose
wastewater contains limited substances or materials, and charges to customers in this class
shall be computed in accord with the following five -part rate schedule:
Monitored Group
Volume charge, per 100 cubic feet $2.78
Biochemical Oxygen Demand strength $0.2697
charge, per pound of BOD
Suspended solids strength charge
per pound of suspended solids $0.1978
Dissolved solids strength charge, per pound of
dissolved solids (applicable to gas well drillers) $0.0420
Monitoring and pretreatment charge = Total actual cost
(2) The monitoring charge shall consist of all cost for personnel, material and
equipment used to collect and analyze samples from the customer's wastewater
to determine the strength of the wastewater produced and, when appropriate, to
inspect pretreatment facilities, to administer pretreatment permit systems and
to enforce ordinance requirements. Pretreatment requirements primarily affect
industries that are subject to 40 CFR, Part 403, General Pretreatment
Regulations.
(3) This schedule shall replace all other charges previously made for industrial
waste strength.
SECTION 5.
This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordinances and of the Code of the
City of Fort Worth, Texas (2015), as amended, except where the provisions of this
ordinance are in direct conflict with the provisions of such ordinances and such Code, in
which event conflicting provisions of such ordinances and such Code are hereby repealed.
SECTION 6.
It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the sections, paragraphs,
sentences, clauses and phrases of this ordinance are severable, and, if any phrase, clause,
sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be declared unconstitutional by the
valid judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality
shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections
of this ordinance, since the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the
incorporation in this ordinance of any such unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence,
paragraph or section.
SECTION 7.
This ordinance shall take effect on January 1, 2026.
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY:
e,.� of-.�i, �c,,., is nmcii•vc.io rnT
Douglas W. Black
Sr. Assistant City Attorney
ATTEST:
Jannette S. Goodall
City Secretary
ADOPTED:August 26, 2025
City of Fort Worth, Texas
Mayor and Council Communication
DATE: 08/26/25 M&C FILE NUMBER: M&C 25-0761
LOG NAME: 602026 RETAIL RATES
SUBJECT
(ALL) Adopt Ordinance Revising Retail Water and Wastewater Rates and Charges and Amending Sections 35-56(b), (c) and (d), Article III -
Charges, of Chapter 35 - Water and Sewers of the City Code, Effective January 1, 2026
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached ordinance revising retail water and wastewater rates and charges and amending
Sections 35-56(b), (c) and (d), Article III - Charges, of Chapter 35 - Water and Sewers of the City Code, effective January 1, 2026.
DISCUSSION:
Each year the Water Utility staff conducts cost -of -service studies to establish annual operating revenue requirements for retail water and
wastewater services. As part of the cost -of -service studies, staff prepares the budget for the ensuing Fiscal Year (FY) and determines the cost
responsibility and revenue requirements to recover the costs of providing service to each of the five water and three wastewater customer classes.
Staff also reviews meter growth, and volume usage and sewer flows contributed by class and adjusts based on both recent and long-term trends.
This process provides cost -of -service rates.
The 2026 cost -of -service studies identify a need for an increase in retail revenue requirements of 2.01 percent for the water system and 2.14
percent for the wastewater system. The primary drivers of the system revenue requirement increases are additional pay -go cash financing and
debt service payments to support the Capital Improvement Plan and keep pace with growth; increased payments to the Tarrant Regional Water
District for raw water purchases and to the Trinity River Authority for outside wastewater treatment services; funding to meet new Per- and
polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulatory requirements; and increases in required transfers to the General Fund and allocations to other funds.
The recommended rate adjustments impact consumption and flow rates as well as monthly service fees, applied based on meter size. The small
increase in the water and sewer monthly service charge for most meter sizes maintains the balance between the fixed and variable charges,
allowing the utility to reduce its reliance on more volatile, volume -based revenues impacted by weather variations. This is a best practice to
promote stability in revenue collection and cash flow.
As part of the revenue requirement analysis, staff reviews water and wastewater usage trends for all retail customer classes. Over the last three
years, the typical Residential customer was billed 10.09 CCF (7,545 gallons) monthly on average for water usage; and 6.00 CCF (4,485 gallons)
monthly on average for sewer usage. Sewer usage is generally an indicator of indoor, domestic water used for cooking, cleaning and bathing, with
no outdoor watering. Given these factors, and the desire to further encourage conservation in outdoor watering use, staff has determined that the
residential water tiers can be restructured around these usage patterns while still recovering sufficient revenue to operate the utility. Adjustments in
the volumes associated with the tiers allows for the rate by tier to remain flat. As a result, staff recommends a new tier structure for residential water
usage as follows:
Current
First 6.00 CCF
More than 6.00 to 18.00 CCF
More than 18.00 to 30.00 CCF
More than 30.00 CCF
Proposed
First 6.00 CCF (no change)
More than 6.00 to 12.00 CCF
More than 12.00 to 24.00 CCF
More than 24.00 CCF
The monthly water meter service charges for the three smallest meter sizes, which include residential -sized meters, are also recommended to
remain unchanged, resulting in no increase to the average monthly residential bill for water service. To the extent that usage differs from the
average usage, bills may be more or less than the average.
To generate revenue required to meet the water revenue requirements of other water customer classes, staff recommends small increases in the
variable volume -based rates for the Commercial and Industrial classes, with larger increases in the two Irrigation class tiers to encourage
conservation. Staff recommends no changes in the rate for the Gas Well class, which is already at its cost of service.
Staff recommends small rate increases for sewer monthly service charges for all meter sizes as well as volume -based rates for all customer
classes in line with their cost of service. Monitored customers are assessed a separate surcharge based on their wastewater strengths and staff
recommends an increase in the volume charge, with no increase in the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), the Total Suspended Solids (TSS),
or the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) surcharges.
These water and sewer rate adjustments result in an increase of $0.64 on the average monthly residential bill based on FY2024 average usage of
7,241 gallons (9.68 CCF) of water and 4,432 gallons (5.92 CCF) of sewer flow per month. This increase reflects the increase in sewer service
only, with no increase for water service for the average resident.
RETAIL WATER RATES
Meter Size Current Proposed
5/8" & 3/4" $13.75 $13.75
3/4" x 3/4" $14.00 $14.00
ill $29.05 $29.05
1 1 /2" $54.50 $57.25
2" $85.10 $89.35
3" $225.10 $236.35
4" $385.55 $404.85
6" $818.45 $859.35
8" $1,429.65 $1,501.15
10" $2,142.80 $2,249.95
Customer Volume Charge Per 100
Current
Proposed
Cubic Feet (CCF)
Residential First 6.00 CCF
$2.28
$2.28
More than 6.00 to 12.00 CCF
N/A
$3.19
More than 12.00 to 24.00
N/A
$4.29
CCF
More than 24.00 CCF
N/A
$5.37
More than 6.00 to 18.00 CCF
$3.19
N/A
More than 18.00 to 30.00
$4.29
N/A
CCF
More than 30.00 CCF
$5.37
N/A
Commercial
All Usage
$2.74
$2.78
Industrial
All Usage
$2.74
$2.80
Irrigation
0 to 100.00 CCF
$3.01
$3.08
More than 100.00 CCF
$4.03
$4.13
Gas Wells
All Usage
$5.85
$5.85
RETAIL WASTEWATER RATES
Meter Size
Current
Proposed
5/8" & 3/4"
$7.50
$7.90
3/4" x 3/4"
$7.80
$8.20
1"
$13.80
$14.55
1 1 /2"
$37.50
$39.50
2"
$60.00
$63.20
3"
$112.50
$118.50
4"
$187.50
$197.50
6"
$375.00
$395.00
8"
$600.00
$632.00
10"
$862.50
$908.50
12"
$1,612.50
$1,698.50
Residential Current Proposed
Volume Charge (per 100 Cubic Feet) $4.26 $4.30
Non -Monitored Current Proposed
Volume Charge (per 100 Cubic Feet) $4.19 $4.25
Monitored Group Current Proposed
Volume Charge (per 100 Cubic Feet) $2.65 $2.78
BOD Charge (per Pound) $0.2697 $0.2697
TSS Charge (per Pound) $0.1978 $0.1978
TDS Charge (per Pound) for Gas Well $0.0420 $0.0420
Drillers
I
This project is located in ALL COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
A Form 1295 is not required because: This M&C does not request approval of a contract with a business entity.
FISCAL INFORMATION / CERTIFICATION:
The Director of Finance certifies that upon approval of the above recommendation and adoption of the ordinance, funds will be deposited into the
Water & Sewer Fund. The Water Department (and Financial Management Services) is responsible for the collection and deposit of funds due to
the City.
Submitted for Citv Manaaer's Office bv: Jesica McEachern 5804
Oriainatina Business Unit Head: Chris Harder 5020
Additional Information Contact: Kristen Nutter 8252