Cities across Sebastian County recently met to discuss a letter from James Fork Regional Water, informing them of a increase in water rates. The letter was preceded by a visit from JFRW General Manager Jeff Pyles to discuss the reasoning behind the increase.
Cities within our coverage area, including, Bonanza, Milltown-Washburn, Huntington, Hackett, Greenwood, Mansfield, are Hartford, are all water suppliers with James Fork.
The rates for James Fork’s largest contract customer, the City of Greenwood, will be considered by the water commission before any recommendations will be made to the council for approval. Mayor Kinslow noted that they have received the notification from James Fork, but have had no formal meeting to date.
“We will have to increase our rates,” shared Mansfield Mayor Buddy Black. “The questions is, by how much? … We will be having a study session at Mansfield City Hall on Thursday, August 3 at 11 a.m. to discuss it. At a later date, we will need to have a rate study done.”
It will be up to the bulk water distributors to determine the rate and timeline for which customers will see an increase.
“James Fork Regional Water District has enacted rate modifications for all municipalities to which it supplies water,” shared Pyles. “This increase comes after much consideration and an intensive internal study into water rates. While the cost of producing water has steadily risen over the past twenty years, there has been a sharp rise over the past ten years as inflation and other economic factors have provided additional challenges to James Fork Regional Water District. Over the past 50 years that the James Fork Regional Water District has served the area, the bulk water rate has lagged behind after each system rate increase. James Fork has chosen to adjust the bulk water rate to align more closely to cost to produce water and the residential customer rate. The staff at James Fork Regional Water District remains committed to providing safe high-quality water to all our residential customers and to the surrounding communities that we serve.”
We will continue to follow this story and update our readership on how these increases will affect you, the customer.
