PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — Punta Gorda is moving forward with plans to raise water and sewer rates for city utility customers.
On Wednesday, the City Council advanced a proposal that would raise utility rates starting Oct. 1 (FY 2026). The plan calls for a 12% increase each year through 2029, before tapering down to about 3% annually. Sewer bills would also rise 25% in the first year.
Watch Alex Orenczuk report on the proposed rate increases:
Utilities Director Tom Spencer said the added revenue is necessary to keep up with demand and pay for long-delayed infrastructure projects.
“These increases are desperately needed to fund all of our capital improvement projects and the operations and maintenance of the utilities department,” Spencer said.
Among the projects included are the replacement of faulty water meters, upgrades to the city’s water distribution system, and expansion of the reverse osmosis water treatment plant and well field.
Spencer said the expansion will add about 4 million gallons of daily capacity, which is crucial as water usage from the city is already exceeding supply.
“In 2021, we saw peak day usage exceeding 9.5 million gallons,” Spencer said. “That wasn’t expected until 2030, and right now we’re only permitted to draw about 8 million gallons a day. So we’re already a million and a half short of what we need.”
The plan also funds construction of a new wastewater treatment plant, upgrades to major pumping stations, and the replacement of a force main beneath I-75. City leaders say those investments will modernize infrastructure that has been pushed past its limits.
“Our utilities have been neglected for years and years by previous directors and city managers,” Vice-Mayor Greg Julian said. “This will enable us to fix it up and make it work for the long haul.”
For most households that use less than 10,000 gallons of water a month, water rates would remain the same at first. But all customers would see higher sewer charges. Developers would also pay more under a proposed increase to impact fees designed to ensure new growth covers the cost of expansion.
City Council must still hold two public hearings and take another vote before the increases take effect. If approved, the new rates would begin Oct. 1.
To learn more about the rate increase and what projects the revenue would fund, click here.
