Newcastle homeowners may experience an increase in their water bills in January 2026, depending on how much water they use.
After hearing City Manager Kevin Self explain that the current rates charged by Newcastle were not keeping up with the rate increases charged by Oklahoma City, the City Council in their November meeting unanimously approved a new four-tiered structure of charges based on use. The new structure increases rates when use increases and when Oklahoma City increases its rates charged to Newcastle.
The base rate will not increase for those residences who use 2,000 gallons or less. Other rates went from the following: 2,001 to 5,000 gallons, $5.65 to $6.15; 5,001 to 10,000 gallons, $6.65 to $7.15; 10,001 to 15,000 gallons, $7.65 to $8.15; and 15,000-plus gallons, $9.15.
Oklahoma City has increased its rates twice in the last year, according to Self, and the impact of absorbing those costs has been a strain on the City’s budget.
WATER RATES on page 2 Self explained that the City pays a reservation rate and a commodity rate to Oklahoma City, and the reservation rate must be paid whether Newcastle uses the total reservation of water, or not. He said that figure is based on a usage of 2,048,000 gallons per day. Newcastle utilizes its own water plant most of the time to fill any demand over the Oklahoma City water allocation.
WATER RATES: Oklahoma City rate increases to be passed along from here on out
Self said Oklahoma City rates were raised on November 1 of this year and will increase every November through 2028. If Newcastle was to go over its reservation, the rate would increase by a large percentage (up to 90%), Self said, so the City does its best not to go over.
Newcastle Council members had commissioned a water rate study by NEWGEN which they received back in August 2023.
That same year, the City was experiencing a loss so the City Council changed the rate schedule for Newcastle residents.
Because the Council intends to continue placing the burden on water users who use the most water, the older three-tier rate structure was approved to be changed to a four-tier structure. Those who consume the least will continue to be charged the least. Higher use residences which consume large amounts of water will pay higher depending on use.
Mayor Karl Nail said there will be no increase for users of 2,000 gallons or less.
“It is important to the Council that we not impact the smaller users, such as senior citizens, if at all possible,” he said.
Self said he intends to come back to the Council for a new water rate study by the time the old one expires in 2027.
Nail said even with the new rate structure, the Council did not include all of the Oklahoma City increases since the last rate adjustment. He said this was done in an effort to minimize impact.
Nail said, “Moving forward, we will mirror any increases from Oklahoma City until we have the results of the next rate study.”
He added, “We are continuing to look at all options to increase our treatment capacity to slow increases in our OKC contract amount. It will likely increase over time, but if we can keep the contract amount lower than our minimum daily usage it will help with the overall rate structure long term.”
