Rate increase approved for local water company

KOOTENAI – An application for a rate increase was recently approved for Kootenai Heights Water System by the Idaho Public Utilities Commission.

Kootenai Heights Water System provides water to 11 residential customers in or about the city of Kootenai. 

The flat rate residential customers’ pay will increase from $38.50 per month to $57.65 per month. New rates were formally approved in a previous order, said Adam Rush, public information officer for the Idaho Utilities Commission. That order was effective Nov. 1, 2023. 

Kootenai Heights Water said the increase is needed to cover expenses that include power, water testing, maintenance and other expenses required to maintain and operate the water system. The utility’s last rate increase was in 2007.

“We go through the process of working through the tariffs with utilities,” he said. “That process was going on after October 31, 2023. The rate change is one component of the overall tariff process. The tariff says, ‘Here are the terms under which you offer service.’”