Proposed water rate hike would help replace 800 miles of old pipe in Fort Worth

Fort Worth city council members will discuss the 2024 city budget during a session set for Thursday morning.

Among the many considerations – is a requested increase to the rate that city water customers pay. It would raise the average water bill by about $2.18 per month, according to figures released by a Fort Worth Water Department spokesperson.

If council members ultimately approve the rate hike, it would go into effect on January 1, 2024, and it would be the first increase since January 2020.

One of the major reasons for the requested increase is the overhaul that is needed to replace the hundreds of miles of cast iron water pipes that are currently running beneath Fort Worth streets.

“We have 800 miles of cast iron pipe in our system,” said Mary Gugliozza of the Fort Worth Water Department. We have an internal goal of replacing about 20 miles a year.”

Less than a month ago, a 30-inch water main broke along Lancaster Avenue, flooding several streets just southwest of Downtown Fort Worth. The aging system of cast iron pipes, which range in age from nearly 50 to 100 years old, has resulted in an average of four minor water line breaks in Fort Worth every day during the height of this summer.

“It is going to take decades, probably, to get rid of all of this,” Gugliozza said about the work it will take to upgrade the water lines. “It didn’t go in overnight. It is not going to come out overnight.”