The Seeley Lake Water District will increase rates for water users as the anticipated closure of Pyramid Mountain Lumber looms this fall.
Per information from a notice sent out by the water district this month, the mill consumed 20% of the water the district produced each month and used about two million gallons of water monthly. The loss of that production for the district is expected to amount between $50,000 and $60,000 in total. The notice stated the mill intends to shut off its water supply at the end of the year, which is likely when changes to users’ bills will occur.
Pyramid has several accounts with the water district, but the main one was for the mill itself and encompassed its kiln and boiler usage.
Water production is a relatively small part of the district’s operational costs, so the loss of production will not lower expenses enough to make up for the loss of income coming from the closure of the mill and its cessation as a client of the district’s.
The district expects an increase of $10 each month for water users. Around 740 people are customers of the water district, and the increase will affect anyone in the water district’s boundaries. The average monthly bill for water district customers is $67.
Vincent Chappell, Seeley Lake Water District manager, said the mill shutting down is a bad situation, and its ripple effects are only starting to be realized.
“We have no other way to generate that income without raising the rates, unfortunately,” Chappell said.
Felicity Derry, office manager for the Seeley Lake Water District, said she moved to Seeley Lake 20 years ago, and there were conversations about the mill shutting down then. This time, it just is actually happening, she said, and unfortunately people don’t realize how much the mill subsidizes their water rates.
“We’ve always known, (those) that work here, just because we’re aware of how much income and how much water the mill uses, we’ve had discussions before that if anything happened to the mill we’d definitely have issues with our budgets,” Derry said.
The district has made minor 3% to 5% increases on the base fee of the water bill, which includes the district’s operational costs and water sales, over the past few years to keep up with inflation and operational costs. Water users’ bills are made up of a base fee and a bond debt line item.
The district will send notices out to its customers via mail and will have a public hearing before any changes are officially made.
“We’re definitely open to suggestions from people,” Derry said. “We would love to have somebody figure out a way where we can not do this.”
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