After several public meetings and the Shreveport City Council's decision to raise water and sewer rates, the next round of water and sewer bills will be a good bit pricier.

Effective October 1st, water rates will increase 13% and sewer rates 55% this year in an effort to raise funds to pay for necessary water and sewer system repairs.

This is only the first round of rate hikes.

Here is the rate increase schedule:

Water

  • 2013: 13%
  • 2014: No increase
  • 2015: No increase
  • 2016: 2%
  • 2017: No increase
  • 2018: No increase
  • 2019: No increase
  • 2020: 6%
  • 2021: No increase
  • 2022: 4%

Sewer

  • 2013: 55%
  • 2014: No increase
  • 2015: 14%
  • 2016: 14%
  • 2017: 9%
  • 2018: 7%
  • 2019: 7%
  • 2020: 6%
  • 2021: 2%
  • 2022: 2%

The City gave offered examples of how large of an increase these rate hikes will be on areas residents.

For a residential home using 3,000 gallons or less per month, they may be paying $8.12 a month for water and sewer.  The rate increase would make their bill $36.15.

For a residential home using 6,000 gallons of water, customers are paying about $45.80 on their bill.  That will rise to about $62 per month.

What if I can't afford these rate hikes?

The Department of Water and Sewerage has an assistance program called the Shreveport Water Assistance Program (SWAP) that is designed to help eligible households with water and sewer bill payments.

According to the department, SWAP can only help customers twice per year.  In order to qualify, residents need to prove that they are on one of the following programs:

  • Food Stamps
  • Family Independence Temporary Assistance Program (FITAP)
  • Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)
  • Kinship Care Subsidy Program (KCSP)
  • or are receiving Supplement Security Income (SSI)

Other specifications of the program include ensuring the plumbing system is operating as it should (i.e. no leaks).  If there is a leak, residents will be asked to fix the leak before their receive assistance.

The two agencies administering SWAP are Socialization Services (318-861-8470) and Caddo Community Action Agency (318-861-4808).

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