The average monthly cost in Arkansas is $388.28, which includes $89.52 for electricity, $107.72 for natural gas, $51.04 for internet, $100 for cable, and $40.00 for water.
In North Little Rock, how much does a water deposit cost?
After the City Council approved a rate hike Monday night, residents in North Little Rock would see an increase in their monthly sewage bill.
For the next four years, each North Little Rock Wastewater customer’s sewage payment will steadily increase. The average customer will experience a $11 rise in their monthly fee after four years of rate increases.
The first rate hike will take effect on April 1, raising the average ratepayer’s monthly payment by $1.74 per month.
Dan Jackson, a Texas-based consultant hired by the city to analyze its wastewater system, claimed that sewer charges needed to be raised to fund repairs to the old system and to keep up with rising costs.
The rate hike would support $72.1 million in capital renovations, which will go toward repairing or replacing the network of outdated, expensive-to-maintain pipes. North Little Rock Wastewater will also issue $45 million in debt to assist pay for capital projects over the next four years.
“It’s a direct investment in your city’s future,” Jackson explained. “The money you spend on these capital replacements will be reinvested in your neighborhood’s streets and alleyways. It will create assets that will benefit you, your children, grandchildren, and possibly even great-grandchildren.”
North Little Rock Wastewater customers currently pay a minimum of $18.05 for 400 cubic feet of water and $5.64 for every 100 cubic feet of water used above the minimum, resulting in an average monthly bill of $34.97.
Beginning April 1, the minimum charge for 400 cubic feet of water will be $18.95, with an additional $5.92 each 100 cubic feet.
From $36.71 in April to $38.56 in 2023, $40.49 in 2024, $42.91 in 2025, and $46.33 in 2026, the average monthly bill will rise.
“For some households, an extra $120 a year in four years is problematic,” Council Member Debi Ross remarked, referring to the average annual rise after four years of rate increases.
The tax hike, according to Mayor Terry Hartwick, is “a necessary evil” for the city’s sewer infrastructure to be maintained. The rate adjustment law had been in the works for months, according to Hartwick, but the proposed rate hike was brought before the council for the first time on Monday.
The council voted unanimously to raise the sewer rate, but Ross voted reluctantly, saying “yes, because we have to” when asked for her vote.
The presentation by Jackson and North Little Rock Wastewater Executive Director Michael Clayton swayed Council Member Jane Ginn, who said of the rate increase, “I’m not happy with it, but you know certain things we just have to do.”
North Little Rock Wastewater manages 715 miles of pipe that serves the city, Maumelle, and sections of Sherwood, as well as rural Pulaski County. According to Clayton, some of the system’s sewer lines are 70 years old or older.
Clayton explained that the recent rate hike is part of a larger effort to fix the city’s old system, which has cost the city money and gotten it into trouble with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.
“We didn’t have enough funding back in 2011 to accomplish what we thought was adequate restoration of our secondary sewers,” Clayton explained.
The city’s history of sewer overflows is due to the outdated pipes, which led to a consent decree with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality in 2011 to repair the system. North Little Rock has raised sewer rates and issued millions in bonds to pay system repairs in the years afterwards.
There were about 120 sanitary sewer overflows in North Little Rock Wastewater in 2011. According to Clayton, the system had roughly 25 sanitary sewer overflows in 2021.
How much does a typical water bill cost?
In July, Auckland water prices will increase by 7%, bringing the average annual household water bill to $1224.
Watercare, the council-controlled organization in charge of the city’s water and wastewater services, authorized the additional rates today.
Auckland Council is also proposing a 6.1 percent rate hike beginning in July, with a climate-action targeted rate of 2.4 percent to fund new and frequent bus routes, native tree planting, and other emissions-reduction measures.
The past 12 months have been difficult for Watercare, according to chief executive Jon Lamonte, with Covid-19 driving up operational expenses and inflation driving up construction prices.
Are utilities in Arkansas expensive?
Arkansas has a substantially lower cost of living than the rest of the country. Arkansas has the third-lowest cost of living of all the states in the United States. In Arkansas, a dollar buys more genuine goods than it does in more expensive states. According to C2ER’s Cost of Living Index, Arkansas’ cost of living is around 14% cheaper than the rest of the US. The index can be used to compare average grocery, housing, utility, transportation, and healthcare prices, among other things.
Arkansas’ Buyer-Friendly Housing Market
In Arkansas, affordable housing is plentiful, and it is one of the most major contributors to the cost-of-living disparity. According to Zillow, the median price of a home sold is $156,800, with a $101 median list price per square foot. The average monthly rent is $1,005. With an effective property tax rate of around 0.62 percent, Arkansas is among the top ten states with the lowest property taxes.
Affordable Utilities in Arkansas
Arkansas is a nice spot to call home because of its reasonable housing expenses and some of the lowest utility rates in the country. The average household spent only $1,892 on energy in 2019, according to the Global Energy Institute, which is 8.7% less than the national average.
Necessities Cost Less in Arkansas
Because the cost of necessities is low in Arkansas, you can take advantage of everything our state has to offer without breaking the bank. It’s simple to see why the Natural State has such a high quality of life when your dollar goes further.
Is power in Arkansas cheap?
- Arkansas produces roughly 1% of all natural gas in the United States and possesses about 1% of the country’s natural gas reserves.
- Arkansas has three biodiesel manufacturing plants with a combined annual output capacity of 115 million gallons, the fifth largest in the US and over 5% of the total.
- In 2021, coal surpassed natural gas as the most common fuel for generating electricity in Arkansas, accounting for 35 percent of the state’s total net generation.
- Arkansas is one of the ten states with the lowest average retail energy price, and about half of the state’s households use electricity to heat their homes.
- In 2021, Arkansas’ only nuclear power station (placed on Lake Dardanelle about 60 miles northwest of Little Rock) provided 22% of total in-state electricity and is the state’s second-largest power plant by generating capacity.
In Texas, what is the typical monthly water bill?
A total of 128 cities indicated that their citizens have access to water.
The average cost of 5,000 gallons of water in all cities is $39.83, down 3.40 percent from the average of $42.23 in 2021.
In all cities, the average monthly home usage is 5,481 gallons.
In 125 of the cities that responded to the study, wastewater service is available.
The average cost of wastewater service for 5,000 gallons of residential usage is $33.46, up 5.55 percent over last year’s average of $31.70.
- Summary of Water Fees by Population Group
- Details on Residential and Commercial Water Costs
- Summary of Wastewater Fees by Population Category
- Details on Residential and Commercial Wastewater Costs
