AIKEN, S.C. () — Aiken city leaders are talking about raising your water and sewer bills.
Consultants say the rate hike will cover rising wages, inflation, and projects like the new water plant behind me. The city last raised rates in July 2024. “If it’s not approved, it’s basically, it’s like kicking the proverbial can down the road,” Aiken City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh said.

People in Aiken could face a 20% rate increase over the next five years. The city says these increases are necessary to keep up with costs. “The county, which processes our sewer, has increased their rates, and those will continue to be increased. We have only, we’ve had a storm water fee for 32 years, 33 years actually, and have done three increases in that time,” he added.

But it’s not just about higher bills. The city is also focused on improving the water system. They’re replacing old pipes, and they’ve got a plan to reduce discolored water complaints. “Looping the water system is something else that we’re continuing to do right now. Over the years, our system’s been in place for over a hundred years, so as the systems come online, we have dead ends, which can increase pressure and cause waterline breaks,” he shared.

The city is fixing those “dead ends” by connecting the lines to other parts of the system. They’re also planning three new water towers in growing areas of Aiken: off East Pine Log Road, Anderson Pond Road, and Richland Avenue West. “Now, will all those water tanks, for example, be put in within five years? I don’t know—probably not. But we would definitely continue to do the looping. We would get a water tank, if not two of ’em, installed. The unidirectional flushing program is gonna start in earnest this calendar year.”

Bedenbaugh says any rate increase will probably be phased in slowly, but the city council will make the final decision. “So you would see like, folks on fixed income, their bill would go up a dollar, $2 a month, versus, if you defer or skip a year with a with no raise, you’d see that so-called sticker shock. And, and we certainly wanna minimize and avoid that.”

City leaders will discuss this further during budget talks. A final vote is expected by July 1.