Public notice: Public hearing in Charlottesville on June 2 for utility rate increases

The City of Charlottesville is proposing higher rates for water, sewer, and natural gas provided to its customers. There will be a public hearing on June 2 before the Charlottesville City Council and the new rates were required to be published in the Charlottesville Daily Progress. A final vote is scheduled for June 16.

“The City’s utilities are funded solely through their rates and related fees and charges and are not subsidized by general tax revenues,” reads a staff report for the public hearing. “The utilities do not operate on a for-profit basis.”

There is a summer rate and a winter rate for water. The current rate is $88.83 per 1,000 cubic feet. The proposal is to increase that effective July 1 to $100.52 per 1,000 cubic feet, a 13.16 percent increase.

The current winter rate is $68.33 per 1,000 cubic feet. The proposal is to increase that to $77.33. That’s a 13.17 percent increase.

There is also a proposed increase to the monthly service charge for all users. These are tiered based on the diameter of the water intake. The charge for a ⅝ inch meter will increase from $7.50 a month to $10.00 a month. All service charges are increasing 33 percent. The charge for a 14 inch meter will increase from $2,456.25 a month to $3,275 a month.

The increase reflects higher rates to be charged by the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority. That entity has a $550 million capital improvement program.

An analysis presented in the staff report claims that the average customer will see an increase of $6.55 a month for water, a 17.12 percent increase.

Charlottesville’s rates for wastewater service are not increasing as much. The current charge is $92.55 per 1,000 cubic feet and the proposal is to increase that to $95.29, a 2.96 percent increase. The same connection fee apply.

Natural gas rates are also slated to increase. Usage is charged on a tiered basis. The current rate for the first 3,000 cubic feet is $9.78 and the proposal is to increase that to $12.41. That’s a 26.84 percent increase. Rates for higher tiers are also increasing.

For more information, take a look at the city’s utility rate report for FY2026.

Before you go: This story was posted in the May 27, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. Posting here was delayed to wait for the publication of the staff report which has images that were not available digitally during the edition posting.