Storm Lake sets hearings on sewer, water rate hikes for May 4

Storm Lake households could see their combined water and sewer bill climb by about $16 to $20 a month, or roughly $192 to $240 a year, if the city moves ahead with two rate hikes now headed to public hearings. The council has set both hearings for 5 p.m. Monday, May 4, in the Storm Lake City Council Chambers at city hall.

The sewer proposal would take effect July 1 and would add about $4 to $5 a month for the average household. Finance Manager Tyler Gibbins told the council the change would bring in about $474,000 a year and give the city a steadier way to pay for wastewater needs, including state-mandated nutrient reduction work, repairs and maintenance. The extra money would also help cover Storm Lake’s share of future grant-funded projects and keep the system from slipping behind on upkeep.

The water proposal is larger. If the council adopts the ordinance after the hearing, average residential bills would rise by about $12 to $15 a month. Gibbins tied that increase to Storm Lake’s long-range plan for a new water treatment plant, more wells and additional storage. The current plant dates to 1978 and is already operating near capacity much of the year.

Storm Lake has been laying the groundwork for that overhaul for months. The City Council formed a Water Treatment Plant Design Advisory Ad Hoc Committee in September 2025 after officials said the city was nearing its daily water capacity of five million gallons and had begun voluntary conservation measures. By January, the committee was recommending a new plant north of Iowa Highway 7, near existing wells and service lines. Water Treatment Plant Superintendent Kolby Struchen said the project also needs wells and storage to serve the city for the next two decades, with preliminary estimates running as high as $100 million. A later preliminary report recommended an 8.8-million-gallon-a-day plant, up from the current facility’s roughly 5 to 5.6 million gallons a day.

In February, the council approved a $2.45 million purchase of nearly 90 acres on 90th Avenue from the Marlin Friedrich Trust for the future facility, with $100,000 placed in earnest money and a closing deadline of no later than Nov. 30, 2026. In March, the city opened the search for an engineering firm to design the plant, with proposals due April 3.

The sewer increase comes with its own pressure. In September 2025, the council rejected bids for a wastewater treatment plant blower replacement project after the lowest bid topped $1.17 million, even with a $300,000 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority. Storm Lake’s fiscal 2025 audit showed a clean, unmodified opinion, but the city also reported $10.4 million in business-type debt and $20.7 million in governmental debt. The Water Fund ended the year at $5.37 million and the Sewer Fund at $4.46 million.

Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy, which targets nutrients from wastewater plants and industrial facilities, frames the sewer discussion. For Storm Lake, the May 4 hearings will be the first public test of whether residents are willing to pay now to soften a sharper bill later.