Governments in Cobb will pay more for water next year, after the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority’s governing board approved a rate increase Monday.
The 2.5% rate increase would raise the cost of 1,000 gallons of water by 8 cents, to $3.13 per 1,000 gallons. If the increase is passed along to households — and there is no guarantee this will happen, as the governments could opt to eat the cost — it would raise the price of water by less than $0.40 per month “for most families,” according to the Authority’s Executive Director, Glenn Page.
The board’s vote was unanimous. Its members are James Scott, Daniel Buyers, Griffin Chalfant, Charlie Crowder, Mike Boyce, James Balli and Charles Welch.
The authority is a wholesaler that sells water to local governments, including Cobb County, to distribute.
With the rate increase, the Authority is expected to generate almost $40 million in net income next year, offsetting the loss of Paulding County, its second-largest customer. Paulding has been testing its own, new treatment plant, which will allow it to treat and use its own water.
Details regarding the authority’s 2021 budget were presented to its full board in November. The board’s planning and finance committees have recommended the 2.5% rate increase, hewing to a four-year plan approved last year.
Other authority customers include Cobb County and the cities of Marietta, Smyrna and Austell, which distribute the water to commercial and residential properties.
