Cascade County commissioners are scheduled to consider an increase to the bulk water at their three public water distribution stations during their Oct. 13 meeting.
The water rate was last changed in 2017 and is currently 25 cents per 75 gallons.
County Public Works is proposing to increase the rate to 25 cents per 25 gallons, or a penny per gallon, effective Jan. 1, 2027 to cover the cost of water purchased from the city and annual electricity costs, plus provide funding for future repairs and improvements.
The commissioners discussed the proposal during a June 26 meeting with public works and finance staff.
The Electric first reported on the proposed increase on July 1.
Cascade County officials proposing rate increase for bulk water at filling stations
Staff said during the June meeting that the program was operating at a deficit because the rate didn’t cover rising operational costs and the need for future capital improvements.
During the June meeting, county officials provided the following numbers:
- in 2025, the county dispensed 24,708,024 gallons at a rate of $0.00341 per gallon, generating $84,318.81 of total revenue, compared to $103,132 of operating expenses, for a $19,290.74 loss.
- the county paid $90,132 to the City of Great Falls, which charges the county $0.00377 per gallon, and $13,477.55 to NorthWestern Energy for site operations.
The existing water stations need ongoing repairs and planned capital improvements, including roof repair and/or replacement, structural repairs and general site maintenance, according to county staff.
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“At the current rate structure, there is no dedicated funding mechanism sufficient to support these long-term facility needs,” staff wrote in their proposed rate adjustment.
According to the agenda report, county staff are providing commissioners with the option to increase the rate to $0.066 per gallon, which would generate less revenue, but that proposal wasn’t discussed in June or during the Oct. 7 work session.
In a document included in the packet for the Oct. 13 meeting, county staff wrote that for fiscal year 2026, which ended June 30, 2026, the county’s water stations dispensed about 26.5 million gallons of water, collecting $88,318, compared to $100,660 in operating expenses.
The county is proposing the increase for bulk water to “better support the costs of providing this service, including the cost of water, operations, maintenance, repairs, and the long-term upkeep and replacement of the infrastructure needed to keep the water stations safe, reliable, and available to the public,” according to county documents included in the agenda packet for the Oct. 13 meeting. “The proposed rate adjustment is not intended to generate a profit or create an additional
source of general county funding. The intent is to move the bulk water service toward a more sustainable operating model in which those who use the service contribute more appropriately toward the costs of providing this service.”
During the Oct. 7 work session, Les Payne, county public works director, said that the rates would be effective Jan. 1 to “give consumers plenty of time to see this coming.”
He said some community members were upset that private water delivery companies or other commercial users were filling up at county water stations.
Payne said the water stations are available to anyone willing to pay for water and the county can’t control who’s using the water, nor does the county control the water supply.
“It’s not our water that we’re providing,” and the county is a pass-through entity.
The city owns the water towers and controls the water supply, which Payne said the city could shut off at any time and with little notice.
Payne said that the county is charging citizens less for bulk water than what it’s paying the city for the water.
He said the cost of water doesn’t include electricity, maintenance, staffing, parking lots and other associated costs.
Payne said the filling stations are vandalized and damaged by vehicle collisions.
During the Oct. 7 work session, Commissioner Joe Briggs said he’d like to see the historical water usage at the county’s water stations.
He said he expected that it has since a number of houses are being constructed in the county with cisterns.
Briggs also asked staff to try to track back how much the city has charged the county for bulk water as far back as possible.
Payne said his deputy had done a lot of research and spoke with officials in about 10 other counties and some private entities about bulk water rates and programs.
Briggs said the city chose to exit the bulk water business and the county took it over since so many residents have cisterns.
It remains a challenge, he said, as another water delivery company had recently ceased operations.
Briggs said the county can’t legally require new houses to be built with wells, so the situation of water access and delivery is worsening every year as more houses are built on cisterns.
He said the city is also seeing housing growth within its limits and at some point, may no longer have the capacity to sell bulk water to the county.
Payne said that the Montana Department of Environmental Quality has been cracking down on water filling stations and wants to see improvements, which would the county’s responsibility to pay.
Briggs said that people put the hose in their water tanks, which could allow for cross-contamination.
He said he doesn’t know the probability of that contamination, but the county receives “nastygrams from DEQ about it.”
Payne said during the Oct. 7 work session that he knows some residents are unhappy about the proposed rate hike, but that many don’t realize it hasn’t been increased since 2017 and the increasing costs to the county.
