SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) – Sewer rates in Sioux City are closer to increasing as City Council members approve the first reading of an ordinance that would raise rates.  

The additional revenue would be used to pay millions of dollars for improvements needed at the wastewater treatment plant.  

Under the proposal, the rate hike would be shared 50/50 between non-industrial users, including commercial and residential ratepayers, and industrial users.  The increase covers three years beginning in 2024.

The exact amount of the increase would range from as little as three dollars for residential customers to as much as $1.5 million for large industrial customers. The total cost for the project currently sits at 580 million dollars.  

“There’s a lot of areas in that plant that are falling to pieces and we got to do stuff to improve it,” said Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott, “Nobody here likes any rate increase obviously, but there’s sometimes where you have to bite the bullet and do it and that’s what we’re going to have to do.” 

Three readings are required before the ordinance can pass.