SUAMICO, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Suamico residents can expect to see their water rates increase in the next few years.
It’s a result of a new water well, treatment facility and tower being installed.
The village board approved a bid April 7 for construction of the project. The well water treatment project is expected to cost about $9.5 million, but the village said it’s well worth it for the residents.
Money for the project will be put towards building a new water well, a well house, treatment facility and a new water tower.
The new facility will be built where a house owned by the village currently sits at 2185 Northwood Road and will pull 700 gallons per minute. It’s a project that’s been discussed for years.
“It’s exciting. I started here in June of 2019 and we were talking about it back then, so it’s been awhile in the making, but it looks like we’re finally moving forward and we’ll have some shovels going in the ground here shortly,” Suamico Village Administrator Alex Kaker said.
The project will come at a cost to residents. While the village doesn’t have a concrete number, water rates are expected to increase nearly 70%, going from $4.18 per thousand gallons to around $7 per thousand gallons. That’s about $150 dollars per year.
Several residents say they’re in favor of the project, despite price hikes, and said it will improve water pressure inside their homes.
Kaker said rate adjustments are expected to go into effect by the end of 2026.
“It’s one of those things that you don’t really realize whether you need it or not until you run out of it, and the village has started issuing water boil advisories, so this is something that most people don’t really recognize that there is a need for a new well,” Kaker said.
In 2017, the village took one of their three wells offline because of high radium levels, which is a known carcinogen. That’s when the village realized digging a new well is a must. Kaker said the village discussed connecting to the Central Brown County Water Authority, but determined there wouldn’t be any cost savings for residents and prefer control of the water rates.
Right now, the village doesn’t have an exact timeline for when it will be complete, but believe it should be in operation by 2027. Construction for the new well is expected to begin later this year.
