AKRON, Ohio — Akron households will pay more for drinking water in each of the next three years under a rate plan city officials outlined to City Council on Monday, Oct. 26, as the city confronts a record year for water main breaks and a system in which about 35% of pipes are more than 90 years old.
Under the new rates, the average household’s monthly water bill will rise from roughly $25 to $30 in 2027, $36 in 2028 and $42 in 2029 — increases of 20%, 20% and 16.7%. The first increase takes effect Jan. 1 and will appear on February bills. The change applies only to the drinking water portion of city utility bills, which also cover sewer and trash service.
Customers using the Home Energy Assistance Program or the Homestead Tax Credit will see smaller bills rise from about $15 to $18 in 2027, $22 in 2028 and $25 in 2029. City utility bills total roughly $104 a month for a typical customer, Deputy Service Director Jeff Bronowski told council, so the water increases add proportionally less to the overall bill than the percentages suggest.
The city says it has changed drinking water rates only once in the last 14 years. As of Oct. 26, Akron had recorded 444 water breaks in 2026 — 41 more than the record set in 2025, with more than two months left in the year. “Some of our system is 100 years-plus, and it’s time to invest in water,” Service Director Chris Ludle said. “We have to do this to ensure that we have a reliable, safe drinking water system.”
Revenue from the increases will fund replacing aging and broken pipes, repairing treatment, transmission and storage infrastructure, paying down existing water debt and covering daily operations, according to a city fact sheet. Officials are moving now because federally mandated work on Akron’s sewer system is nearly complete, freeing the city to give drinking water the same attention.
City spokeswoman Stephanie Marsh warned that waiting would cost more: delaying even one year would add an estimated $9 million a year in costs, because emergency repairs are far more expensive than planned ones, and could push the monthly increase to roughly $8.50 instead of the planned $5. Council is also considering $3 million to begin a two-to-three-year study of a full overhaul of the water system; a council committee took time on that measure Monday.
Sewer rates approved last year are already in effect and will not change, and possible charges for an Enhanced High Rate Treatment Facility will not be imposed unless a federal court requires the $300 million project under Akron’s consent decree. A recent agreement with state and federal regulators that would eliminate the project is in a public comment period through Nov. 12, after which the court is expected to weigh in.