Gwangju Residents Brace for Water & Sewage Rate Hikes: 9% Increase Every Year for Four Years
“Accumulated deficit… The increased rates are used to replace old water pipes, etc.”
Gwangju water and sewage rate increase notice
(Gwangju = Yonhap News) Reporter Jang Deok-jong = Gwangju City announced on the 8th that it will increase water and sewage rates by 9% per year (monthly average of 800 won for water and 560 won for sewage) for four years starting from the notice in December of this year.
The city held an inflation response committee in August and decided to gradually increase water and sewage rates due to the growing accumulated deficit. To stabilize prices and reduce the burden on citizens, the committee froze fares for city buses, city gas, urban railways, taxis, and garbage bags.
Gwangju City’s water supply rates have been frozen for 7 years since the increase in 2017, and remain at only 65% of production costs. The city explained that the sewage rate is 65% of the treatment cost, and an increase is inevitable due to the accumulated deficit.
The city plans to invest KRW 16.7 billion and KRW 13.6 billion, respectively, to replace old water pipes and expand drainage basins to ensure a stable supply of tap water next year using the increased rate. We are also investing in water supply facilities, including investing 1 billion won in an emergency water pipe project to prepare for disasters such as drought.
Due to the rate increase, based on the average monthly household consumption of 14㎥, the progressive rate system that was applied in three stages depending on usage will be abolished and converted to a single rate system. In the case of household use, level 1 (1-20㎥) usage accounts for 96% of the total, making the progressive rate system less effective, and multi-person households (multi-child households, etc.) have to pay higher fees than single-person households, which is to resolve this issue.
Kim Il-gon, head of the city’s water management policy department, said, ”It is inevitable to raise rates in order to supply safe tap water, prevent ground subsidence through maintenance of old pipes, and secure funds for facility investment for sewage treatment.” “We decided to raise it in stages over four years,” he explained.