With the Monarch Utilities water rate case downshifting into the discovery period, the nearly 5,000 Pflugerville residents who would be affected by the hike can do little more than wait to see if and by how much their water bills will increase.

Little movement on the case has taken place since November, when judges denied a Monarch request to dismiss the sale/transfer/merger (STM) case that will determine whether or not the company can purchase Windermere Utility Company—which serves part of west Pflugerville—and a number of other Texas utilities companies.

The judges also ruled that, until the STM case is resolved, the proposed rate increase will not be addressed and rates will remain at their previous levels.

In other words, customers will not see any new increases on their water and wastewater costs while the cases are being decided, which could take some time.

Jim Boyle, the attorney for Pflugerville and several other cities involved in the case, said he expects the STM case could last into the third quarter of 2012.

Lawyers for all parties involved are currently going through the discovery period, during which documents and information are processed to find and examine evidence for or against the rate increase.

The increase

Windermere Utility Company water customers had gotten used to small yearly increases in their water bill. While it upset some, for the most part it had become an accepted fact for the nearly 5,000 customers in western Pflugerville.

All of that changed in August, when Monarch Utilities—a subsidiary of California-based SouthWest Water Company and potential new owner of Windermere—notified customers that their rates would be going up significantly as part of the company's merger with Windermere.

Water rates across the system were proposed at amounts 62.3 percent higher for water and 33.6 percent higher for wastewater.

Windermere currently charges a base fee of $15 for water plus $5.70 per 1,000 gallons and a $32.20 base charge for wastewater plus $5.64 per 1,000 gallons. The company is proposing a $53.47 base charge for water plus $7 per 1,000 gallons up to 20,000 gallons and $9 for each 1,000 gallons thereafter. Wastewater would carry a $46.59 base charge with no change to the per-gallon rate.

According to the City of Pflugerville, a bill on 10,000 gallons of water and 10,000 gallons of wastewater under the city's system would be $100.25.

If the new prices go into effect, that same usage for a Monarch customer would be $226.46, a 41 percent increase over the $160.60 it would cost now.

The City of Pflugerville has already denied the increase in the area under its jurisdiction, but the final say rests with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.