Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Bodcaw water rates will be going up

Water rates for customers on the Waterloo-Bodcaw system have been increased.

Bodcaw Mayor Larry Hicks said Hope increased its rate for the system at the start of 2003, which has resulted in Bodcaw having to raise the rates to its customers as well. The Bodcaw system gets its water from Hope.

The increase will be $4 per month for the base rate, which is the first 3,000 gallons used. Frm there, each 1,000 gallons of water used will cost 50 cents more than it did.

Hicks said the Bodcaw system sells an average of three million gallons of water a month. However, water sales are down because Tyson Foods shut down several chicken houses in the area. Chicken houses, he said, were the system's largest users.

The increase in water rates, Hicks said, is strictly due to a cost of living increase along with an increase in the wholesale price of water from Hope. The increase from Hope, he said, was about 10 percent.

At the January meeting of the Bodcaw City Council, it was decided to pass the increases along to the customers. These price hikes will be on the March water bills.

According to Hicks, the base rates for residential users will be from $18.31 to $22.50 for the first 1,000 gallons of water used. From there, residential use rates will be increased 50 cents per 1,000 gallons.

Commercial rates will be raised from $30 to $37 per month for the first 1,000 gallons, and also be increased by 50 cents per 1,000 gallons thereafter.

The system covers a good portion of south Nevada County and part of northern Hempstead County. Hicks said there are about 500 customers on the system who will be affected, this includes the nearly 200 in Hempstead County.

At this time, Hicks said, the City of Bodcaw is looking for loans and grants for the second phase of the project, which would extend water lines to the southeast part of the county along Rocky Mound Road and Arkansas Highway 278.

Hicks said he hopes funding can be obtained during 2004 so the system can be increased to include another 300 people.