Costly water, sewer system upgrades prompt rate increase for Petersburg residents
VENN
PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) -- Petersburg leaders mapped out the costly, but necessary improvements to its water, sewer and stormwater systems -- and how they will pay for them -- on Tuesday. This included raising residents' water and sewer rates for the first time in years.
During its regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 21, the Petersburg City Council discussed the expensive needs of Petersburg's aging water and sewer infrastructure.
These talks began with an outline of the city's new Capital Improvement Plan, which lays out the projects leaders believe are necessary to improve the city over the next five years -- including over $73 million in improvements to be made in fiscal year 2026.
The plan will allocate about $9.6 million to stormwater-related projects, including a $5.9 million effort to repair a sinkhole on and replace the deteriorating culvert under Bank Street.
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Another $8.5 million will go towards water utility improvements and about $27.6 million will fund wastewater improvements. Within these two budget areas are projects like a $10.3 million major upgrade for the sewer utility system and a $3.6 million new pressure zone within the water utility system.
According to city leaders, accounting for all short and long-term water and sewer system needs, there is over $1 billion in anticipated costs.
"That, quite frankly, is a testament to the age of our system," said city manager John Altman, Jr., who pointed out an 108-year-old pipe within said system as an example.
However, city leaders had to decide how to pay for these expensive improvements. While the city said a sizeable portion of the funding for these fiscal year 2026 priorities will come from federal, state or other grant sources, the city itself has to find some of the money -- and it proposed doing so by taking out loans.
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This included two proposals that would secure a total of $70 million in bonds. Per the city, $40 million would be obtained specifically to fund water and sewer infrastructure improvements.
A previous utility rate study found that Petersburg is faced with about $190 million in deferred water and sewer capital infrastructure investments -- and about $130 million anticipated to be funded by the city taking out debt.
City leaders said that it's a decision between debt and significantly burdening Petersburg's residents. By taking out loans and securing bonds, the city can address these vital infrastructural needs without significantly driving up water and sewer utility rates.
That doesn't mean residents won't be paying more for their water and sewer, though. During Tuesday's meeting, city councilors approved an ordinance raising water and sewer rates by 9.5%. This translates to a typical household paying about $7.51 more a month -- or a $2.30 monthly increase for water and a $5.21 monthly increase for sewer.
Per city leaders, Petersburg hasn't raised its water and sewer rates since 2019, when it raised said rates by 12.2% -- which meant they "weren't even keeping up with inflation."
Ultimately, the city said these proposals will fund sorely-needed improvements while minimizing the impact on individual Petersburg residents.
The approved water and sewer rate increase will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
There are also plans to further increase these rates yearly until fiscal year 2030.
