Water, Sewer Rates Increasing for Winston-Salem and Forsyth Residents

Winston-Salem and Forsyth County residents will soon be paying more for water and sewer services.

A city-county commission has approved an increase in monthly rates as well as to the base charges that customers pay.

The increase is 4.5 percent for water and 6.7 percent for sewer. For customers who are billed bi-monthly, an average household can expect to see an increase of just under nine dollars.

Courtney Driver is deputy director of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities. She says some of the money will pay for increasing the sewer capacity in the South Fork Basin. The improvements will affect about 65,000 customers in the Kernersville and Southeastern Forsyth County areas. The project is expected to cost about $100 million over the next four to five years. Driver says it will help meet the expected long-term growth in the area.

The rate increases will also help pay for the commission's debt service as well as other capital improvements. Those projects include a new sewer lift station on Harper Road and repairs and upgrades to the pump station at Idols Dam on the Yadkin River.

Last year, there was a 7 percent across-the-board increase. The new rate increases are scheduled to go into effect October 1.