MOYIE SPRINGS — Sewer rates in the city have increased to $80 per month as the city works to repay a state loan totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.  

The higher bills begin in May. The increase represents a 77.8% jump from the previous $45 monthly rate. Combined with a $30 water bill, residents connected to the sewer system will pay $115 per month.  

While Moyie Springs received multiple grants, the city needed to take out a $724,000 loan from the Department of Environmental Quality to complete the project. It is a 30-year loan and is part of DEQ’s revolving loan fund. 

City officials said they are working to reduce sewer rates in the future. 

“We are actively exploring various strategies to reduce the financial burden on our customers,” city staff said in an April 24 letter to sewer system customers. “Our current goal is to bring the monthly sewer fee down to $60.” 

Moyie Springs mayor Geoff Hollenbeck said in a statement that lowering expenditures could help lower rates in the future.

"There will be ongoing work to try to get the rate lowered but it will be a slow process," Hollenbeck said. "We'll have to see if there is any way to reduce expenditures for operating the plant."

“We understand that this change may be unexpected, and we sincerely regret the necessity of this rate adjustment,” Moyie Springs officials said in a statement. “We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate these necessary adjustments.”

At the previous $45 monthly rate, the city was losing $11,521.45 annually on the sewer system, according to documents previously shared by the Moyie Springs City Council. 

Hollenbeck said that he was disappointed about the situation.

"I'm really disappointed that the rate has to be at $80," Hollenbeck said. "That's a big increase and I feel for the citizens that have to pay that amount.

The sewer system serves 112 connections near City Hall but has the capacity to serve up to 200. As of 2020, about 91% of residents in the sewer service area were classified as low- to moderate-income, compared with 36% of the overall Moyie Springs population.