The cost to new customers and developers to connect to Clark Public Utilities’ water system is going up.
The utility’s elected three-member board this week unanimously approved increasing the utility’s water system connection charge from $2,300 to $2,900 — a 26 percent increase.
The increase will be effective Feb. 1.
An analysis showed that the current connection charge of $2,300 for a basic residential-size meter was below the actual cost to the utility of $3,320, according to a news release issued by the utility on Wednesday.
The new charge of $2,900 remains below the average for neighboring water systems, the utility said.
The board’s decision reflects a compromise that’s sensitive to developers “while also taking care to recover actual costs of new connections so our existing customers aren’t significantly subsidizing new construction,” Commissioner Carol Curtis said in the news release.
