Portland Water District Trustees delay May 1 water rate increase

On Monday, April 6 at a special (remote) meeting of the Portland Water District Board of Trustees, the Board unanimously voted to table the water rate increase that was scheduled to take place May 1. They will revisit it again in late May. (Edit: At the May meeting, trustees decided to table the rate increase until further notice.)

In order to ease the financial burden on customers during this difficult time, the Portland Water District has taken several actions to assist the public in response to COVID-19. PWD has suspended water disconnections on delinquent bills and has also waived late fees until 30 days after the State of Emergency ends.

In February the Portland Water District proposed a 2.9 percent rate increase, effective May 1, which would add an additional 61 cents to the typical monthly water bill (residential).  In total, the rate increase was expected to raise $727,439 in revenue.