City residents will see their water rates rise by about 5 percent beginning in 1997, officials said Monday.
Because of the city’s purchase of the Woodridge water systems and a rising demand for water within Darien, City Council members decided in a 5-2 vote to raise the rates to fund the water service.
Beginning in 1997, most residents will pay $3.83 per 1,000 gallons of water, aldermen said, while residents in the Farmingdale Ridge and Tara Hill/Oldfield Triangle areas of the city will pay $4.10 per 1,000 gallons. Water customers outside the city’s boundaries will pay $4.99 per 1,000 gallons.
Officials decided to delay the increases by a year to give residents time to adjust to the new rates, said Mayor Carmen Soldato. The new rates will cost the average resident an additional $20 to $25 per year, Soldato said.