City water and sewer rates are going up.

Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said at a meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen Monday that the report from a 10-member committee appointed to review the city’s rate structure recommends increasing the rates.He did not say by how much or when the new rates will be effective.

He plans to meet with the committee later this week to discuss the report.

“I still have to review the report,” he said, adding it could be several months before the board takes action on the new rates.

Flaggs said the city has no alternative but go up on the rates because of increased use.

“People are using more water now than ever before,” he said. “It’s costing us more to provide the service now.”

Besides the increased use, the city is also faced with meeting the terms of a consent decree with the Environmental Protection Agency and paying for upgrades to the electrical system at the city’s water treatment plant on Haining Road. The board must also come up with about $2 million in matching funds for the auxiliary waterline project, which is funded in part by a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers grant.

Flaggs indicated in February 2017 the Board of Mayor and Aldermen could at some point have to consider a utility rate increase.

“I’m just putting the city on notice, because if you’re going to grow and expand the way we’re talking about growing and expanding and developing the city around it, we’re going to have to put some money out as it relates to water treatment and wastewater in this city, because we’re at a breaking point,” Flaggs told the board at that time.

“I’m trying to get the mindset of the public and the citizens to understand that a rate increase may be around the corner for somebody.

“I don’t see how we can continue to improve the quality of service and meet all of these decrees at the same cost,” he said. “It’s just impossible.”

The board hired Jackson engineers Allen & Hoshall to perform a rate study, and the committee was appointed in July to review the study.

City water bills are based on use, with residents paying a minimum of $8.75 for the first 2,000 gallons used and $3.22 per 1,000 gallons for the next 8,000 gallons used. A sliding scale is used to determine the cost per gallon for use more than 8,000 gallons.

Commercial users pay a minimum of $35.80 for the first 4,000 gallons, and $4.25 per 1,000 gallons for the next 8,000 gallons used. Like the residential rates, use over 8,000 gallons is determined using a sliding scale.

Sewer rates are based on water use. Residential customers inside the city pay a minimum of $12.90 ($6.45 per 1,000 gallons) for the first 2,000 gallons and $3.60 per each 1,000 gallons after 2,000 gallons. Residential customers outside the city limits pay $25.80 for the first 2,000 gallons and $7.20 per each 1,000 gallons for each 1,000 gallons over 2,000.

Commercial customers inside the city pay $28.25 for the first 2,000 gallons, and $3.60 per each 1,000 gallons for each 1,000 gallons over. Commercial customers outside the city limits pay $56.50 for the first 2,000 gallons and $7.20 per 1,000 gallons for each 1,000 gallons over 2,000.

All customers also pay a $5 EPA fee approved in 2015 to help cover costs for upgrading and repairing the city’s 111-year-old sewer system.