Water is processed at the Tennessee American Water Co. facility off Riverside Drive.
The average Chattanooga household will pay another $1 a month for water under a rate increase approved today for the Tennessee American Water Co.
The Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA) approved a 4.64 percent increase in water rates for the Chattanooga water utility, which had sought a 5.2 percent increase to recover the costs associated with renewing and replacing pipes, meeting Environmental Protection Agency requirements and supporting local economic projects like putting in new pipes for new businesses.
“Our customers play an important role because each time they make a water payment, they help to make critical improvements to our water system,” Tennessee American Water President Deron Allen said in a statement today. “We plan these projects based on greatest need, balanced by the price our customers pay. We are also very careful to manage our costs by operating as efficiently as possible.”
The extra fee will appear as a surcharge, called a “Capital Recovery Rider” on a customer’s bill.
Historically, general rate cases filed by Tennessee American have sought double-digit rate increases and have often been severely cut by the TRA. The latest rate increase is one of the first under a new rate-setting process adopted by the Tennessee Legislature and the TRA to expedite and improve utility rate making.