As missteps by the city’s water utility threaten to drown local ratepayers with dramatically higher bills, Mayor
Greg Ballard’s administration is exploring a complete overhaul of the system. The mayor’s initiative can’t produce results soon enough.
Officials grappling with a water utility deep in debt and a sewer infrastructure needing upwards of $2 billion in
upgrades were swamped with proposals about how to fix the mess.
The Indianapolis Department of Waterworks today unveiled a capital-improvements proposal that would raise water rates for
the average residential customer by 35 percent, or $8 a month.
Among 23 firms that have expressed interest in operating Indianapolis’ water and sewer systems is Macquarie, the Australian
firm that operates the Indiana Toll Road under a 75-year, $3.8 billion lease. In July, the city asked companies to express
interest in operating the systems.
Already swamped with higher debt costs due to a bond refinancing fiasco, the city’s Department of Waterworks is asking
the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to OK a rate hike to pay for capital projects.
Veolia Water Indianapolis, which manages the city’s water utility, has appealed an order issued by state utility regulators
that limited a major rate increase sought by the city.
Customer groups say an 18-percent rate hike sought by the Indianapolis Department of Waterworks is excessive even for a utility
drowning in variable-rate bond debt that’s swelled since financial markets collapsed.
