Potomac households could see their water and sewer bills rise about $7.23 a month under a rate ceiling the Montgomery County Council approved Oct. 27.

The council voted 11-0 to set a 7% maximum average rate increase for WSSC Water (the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission) in fiscal year 2028, which starts July 1, 2027, Moderately MOCO reported. County Executive Marc Elrich recommended the 7% cap on Oct. 7, and the council's Transportation and Environment Committee backed it unanimously on Oct. 12.

Prince George's County went lower. Its council adopted a 5% ceiling on Oct. 20 in a 6-0 vote with five members absent, according to Moderately MOCO and Prince George's County Council records. A 5% increase would add about $6.19 a month for an average household.

The two-point gap matters. Each percentage point of rate increase brings WSSC about $11 million in revenue, according to council staff, making the difference between the two counties worth roughly $22 million a year.

What's driving the increase

Council staff identified four main cost pressures behind the 7% scenario:

  • Debt service: up $31.1 million, or 8%
  • Maintenance and operating costs: up $23.2 million, including professional services, benefits and chemicals
  • Salaries: up $8.8 million for cost-of-living and merit increases
  • Regional sewage disposal: up $7 million, or 7.8%

The 7% plan already assumes $28.7 million in operating cuts across the agency and a six-month freeze on filling vacant positions, Moderately MOCO reported. A 5% scenario would require an additional $22 million in reductions, council staff wrote.

Elrich's Oct. 7 memo noted that a WSSC analysis found the utility needs an 11.7% rate increase to meet all its financial targets by fiscal 2032. The 7% ceiling, Elrich wrote, "will not allow WSSC to meet its financial targets within the next five years."

A familiar split

The two counties have set these spending limits every fall since 1994. They have disagreed in 10 of those years, including the past two fiscal years, according to the council staff report.

Last year's split looked similar. Prince George's approved 5% and Montgomery supported 6%. WSSC submitted a budget with a 5% rate increase but used surplus fund balance and higher investment income to spend at the equivalent of 6%, and both councils approved it.

The fall ceilings are guidance, not the final word. They tell WSSC how to build its budget request but do not create a ceiling or a floor on what the councils approve together in mid-May, the council staff packet states. Under state law, WSSC's proposed budget becomes the default if the two councils cannot agree on changes.

Lower now, higher later

WSSC's own six-year projections show a trade-off. Under the 7% scenario, rates would then rise 9% in fiscal 2029 and 7.5% in fiscal 2030. Under the 5% scenario, those years would climb to 9.5% and 8.5%.

What comes next

WSSC is expected to release its proposed fiscal 2028 budget for public comment by Jan. 15, 2027. The agency would then send the budget to both counties by March 1, 2027, with a final vote from both councils in mid-May 2027.

Montgomery's Sept. 29 public hearing on the rate limits drew no speakers and no written testimony. The next chance for residents to weigh in is WSSC's public comment period on the proposed budget this winter.