Midwest City adjusts water meter fees

By Jeff Harrison
Midwest City Beacon

The Midwest City Council has approved the city’s annual water meter fee schedule, reflecting changes based solely on the actual cost of materials.

The updated fees are intended to cover the cost of meters for new construction projects without generating additional revenue for the city.

Public Works Director Paul Streets explained that the fee adjustments are calculated annually based on the cost of the meters purchased by Line Maintenance.

“We’re not making any money on this,” Streets said. “The only exception is for the [largest] meters because of its size, typically, market determines what that cost is…The change could be pretty dramatic and to be absorbed by taxpayers business, and that’s not how we want to do business.”

The revised water meter costs for 2025–26 include:
• 5/8 x 3/4” meter: $811 (up from $756)
• 1” meter: $536 (up from $506)
• 1 ½” meter: $876 (up from $791)
• 2” meter: $1,326 (up from $1,286)
• 3” meter: $1,916 (up from $1,576)
• 4” meter: $3,091 (up from $2,786)
• 6” meter: $5,226 (up from $4,706)
• 8” and larger: pricing determined by supplier quote plus delivery and inspection

The council unanimously approved the schedule of fees, which took effect Aug. 27.

Streets also highlighted a new process for sewer billing for some residents and businesses using wells or non-city water sources. Instead of requiring residents to report household occupancy, which historically required significant customer service follow-up, sewer rates will now be set according to the number of occupants when service begins and remain fixed until a change in occupancy.

“This simplifies the process so that when somebody comes in to start service, the number of people in their household determines their sewage cost, their rate, and it stays that way until they move out and somebody else comes in,” Streets said.

Councilman Marc Thompson questioned whether residents would update their accounts.

Streets said the city considered labor costs for customer service when making the decision.

“We had some discussions with city leadership to decide what kind of impact we had based on the labor costs in customer service due to the legwork versus the actual revenue collected. Ultimately, this looked like a better decision to simplify it.”

City staff currently sends out about 400 letters annually with 350 households responding, said Sara Hancock, City Clerk, in a memo.

The council approved the ordinance change.