ROCK SPRINGS — A rate study initiated by the Rock Springs City Council in April continues to investigate if rates for the city’s sewer and water services are appropriate for the city’s needs. 

Neither Councilman Rob Zotti, who has the longest tenure on the Council, nor Director of Administrative Services Matt McBurnett could remember the city ever initiating a rate study. Zotti said the city has tried to do its best in estimating how much the Joint Powers Water Board would raise its rates charged to the city, trying to match that increase with “a little extra” to cover infrastructure work in the city’s budget. He believes the study will help the city in identifying needs and having a consistent approach in addressing its rate structure.

Todd Cristiano of Raftelis, the company contracted for the study, spoke to the Council during a special meeting hosted Tuesday evening. Cristiano said the study hasn’t been completed yet, but sought to give the Council some background on the study and answer questions Council members may have. Cristiano said rate studies are a best practice for municipalities because they help ensure financial sustainability while promoting equity and fairness in rates. He said studies also support long-range planning to help combat sudden rate hikes for new infrastructure. A rate study helps create a financial plan for a city, as well as identifies the cost of the service ensures rates are fair for residents.

“We want to make sure that whatever we come up with is not discriminatory or capricious, that we’re not just making something up,” Cristiano said.

Cristiano said the city has a very common rate structure for water and sewer usage. The water rate is determined by the meter size, plus a three-tiered usage by volume system. The sewer rate is made up of a minimum monthly rate and a volume rate. He said Raftelis will work from that structure and the pricing objectives the city decides on and will return with some rate proposals when the study is completed. 

Municipalities face several challenges when it comes to managing utilities, which includes inflation, rate increase fatigue and more strict regulations. Cristiano said fatigue is setting in for customers because they’re tired of costs increasing across the board, not just for utilities. He also said capital repair and replacement are becoming more expensive, as prices following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022 have only increased. He said the cost to repair and replace a portion of a water main used to cost approximately $250 each linear foot. That cost has gone up significantly in the last three years.

“That’s up around $500, $600 a linear foot,” Cristiano said. “It’s increased quite a bit, and those items still need to be replaced. Pipes only last so long in utility.”

Cristiano said other Wyoming cities are seeing increased costs and cited a 2025 American Water Works Association survey that found capital improvement financing and infrastructure renewal and replacement costs are the top concerns utility managers have.

Raftelis is doing a capital project review of the water system, while also attempting to complete what Christiano called “a high-level valuation” of the Rock Springs system to see if there are gaps in the city’s repair and replacement plans. The study also investigates what materials the city’s water mains use and how often they should be replaced.

“We really kind of drill down and make sure we just don’t have a kind of wishlist, we actually have an actionable capital improvement program,” Cristiano said.

The study’s results are anticipated to be ready by either the fourth quarter of this year or the first quarter of 2026. There are still a few steps needing to be addressed, including the finalization of the water, wastewater, and stormwater capital plan optimization and the prioritization of the rate structure pricing objectives.

“We’re not in a huge rush, but we’ve got some great momentum going,” Cristiano said.