Portland Water District Trustees Approves A Combined $108.7 Million Operating and Capital Budget for 2024

Portland Water District’s Board of Trustees approved a combined $60.1 million water and wastewater operating budget and a $48.6 million capital budget for 2024 at the November 27, 2023, public meeting. The capital budget allocates $13.4 million to water projects, $9.4 million of that to replace aging water mains. An additional $32.8 million is targeted at wastewater projects.

The budget incorporates a water rate adjustment which adds an additional $1.52 to a typical monthly water bill for a single-family residence. This adjustment represents a 5.9% increase from comparable 2023 water rates. The rate impact to other users including commercial, fire protection and other customers averages 6.4%. The adjustments will take effect in January 2024. A public hearing and notification on the rate adjustments occurred in November.

Much of the operating budget increase is attributed to higher electricity and chemical costs, as well as higher debt service expenses. A significant portion of the capital increase is related to construction of a new North Windham Wastewater Treatment Facility ($10.0 million) and for upgrade projects at the East End Wastewater Treatment Facility ($15.8 million) in Portland. Each of these efforts is receiving large investments from the state and federal government to offset a portion of the investment costs.

The 2024 Comprehensive Budget can be found here: https://www.pwd.org/sites/default/files/2024_portland_water_district.pdf.