2030 Comprehensive Plan Update, April 2024

Public Utilities

This section addresses the following major issues: • Making more efficient use of available water, matching source characteristics with intended uses, and pricing water to reflect the true cost of service. Not all uses of water, including irrigation, require pristine, potable water sources. Irrigation uses may also rely on reclaimed water or cistern-stored rainwater. • Planning for water resources in the face of a changing and uncertain climate that may result in greater extremes of rainfall and drought. While the addition of Lake Benson as a drinking water source has significantly increased overall system resiliency and capacity, additional sources will need to be identified and acquired. This planning process may be impacted by the effects of a changing climate. • As major users of energy, all utility systems will need to respond by looking for efficiencies and alternative energy sources throughout their operations. • Planning for the future in an ever-evolving regulatory environment at the state and federal level. • Planning for future water demands in a competitive resource allocation environment— significant competition for water is to be expected among utility systems, regions, and classes of users (residential versus commercial versus agricultural). • Providing the utility capacity necessary to accommodate the city’s future growth, including the expansion of systems as well as the rebuilding and enhancement of systems in older parts of the city. • Better matching the expansion of utility infrastructure with the city’s preferred growth patterns and strategies, to minimize costs and maintain each system’s financial health. • Fully educating and involving the public as informed customers and responsible users of vital natural resources.

Beyond these major fixed investments, the city’s utility systems require continual investment to keep pace with demand, replace aging facilities, and keep systems in a state of good repair. Financing of these systems depends upon future revenue streams. The water and sewer utilities are funded through utility bills as well as one-time connection fees. Utility acreage fees, one-time fees assessed on new development, help fund the cost of constructing major water and sewer lines serving an area. Stormwater is funded through a monthly fee on all development with impervious surfaces in excess of 400 square feet, and this fee was recently increased by 24 percent. Debt service on major new stormwater investments is supported by recurring fees levied across all development, existing and new. These vital infrastructure systems are critical to the city’s continued growth and development, and their proper functioning has major environmental implications. Water, wastewater, and stormwater systems are embedded in the region’s hydrology, and the quality of our lakes, rivers, and other surface waters is heavily influenced by the operation of these systems.

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