Junction City residents can expect to see a 6% rate increase in water and wastewater in 2017.

City Manager Allen Dinkel said a rate increase isn’t ideal but necessary. “About three years ago the City made the decision to upgrade the water plant and likewise the waste water plant – one to meet requirements, updates the plants so we meet all the EPA and KDHE requirements – when they put that in place the plan was to increase rates by 6% a year for a 10 year period.”

The ten year period is part of Phase 1 improvements for the water and wastewater plants.

Dinkel said that this is just the “cost of having the funds to do what needs to be done to improve the system,” stating that one of the City’s functions is to provide high quality drinking water.