Salina Staff Proposes 15% Water Rate Increase in 2027 as City Tries to Accelerate Aging Pipe Replacement

Salina city commissioners will take a closer look Monday at how quickly the city is replacing its aging water mains — and how much residents may have to pay to speed the work up.

During a 2:30 p.m. study session Sept. 28, city staff will present several long-term water-main replacement options. The staff-preferred plan calls for a 15% water rate increase in 2027, followed by additional increases of 10% in 2028, 9% in 2029, 9% in 2030 and 8% in 2031. The city's presentation describes those increases as a 51% total over five years.

No formal action will be taken during the study session. Commissioners can provide direction before water rates return for formal consideration later.

The proposal comes as the city's own numbers show Salina has historically replaced water lines at a slower pace than the benchmark officials have cited.

City says 1% a year is the benchmark

Utilities Director Martha Tasker previously told Salina311 that the American Water Works Association recommends replacing about 1% of a water system annually.

For Salina, with approximately 338 miles of water main, that equates to roughly 3.4 to 3.5 miles each year.

But the presentation prepared for Monday says Salina has replaced or placed under replacement projects approximately 45.06 miles over the past 16 years, an average of 2.82 miles per year — about 0.83% of the system annually.

That is below the 1% benchmark the city is now using to build its replacement plans.

Salina311 previously asked the Utilities Department specifically how much water main work had been completed or contracted in recent years.

Tasker said the city had executed agreements covering 13.06 miles from 2021 through the current 2026 project. Over six years, a 3.5-mile-per-year pace would equal approximately 21 miles.

The 13.06-mile figure represents about 62% of that pace. It is also important that the city's figure represents executed agreements, not necessarily pipe physically installed during that exact six-year period, because larger projects can extend across multiple years. 

2026 project replaces about one mile

The gap became particularly visible with the city's most recent project.

Commissioners approved the 2026 Water Main Replacement project in August for approximately $2.06 million, with authorization of up to about $2.16 million including contingency.

That project covers only about 1.08 miles of water main.

The city's latest presentation puts the construction cost at approximately $1.907 million per mile.

Salina311 previously reported that the 1.08-mile project amounts to less than one-third of the approximately 3.5 miles per year the Utilities Department says the city should be replacing. (

Replacement costs have risen substantially.

The city's first replacement phase in 2010-11 cost approximately $388,120 per mile. The current 2026 project is approximately $1.907 million per mile — nearly five times as much. 

Tasker previously told Salina311 that bids have increased by roughly five times since the COVID-era construction cost increases and had not returned to earlier levels. 

More than half of system is cast iron

The new presentation lists Salina's system at 338 miles of water mains, including:

177 miles of cast iron — 52%

70 miles of ductile iron

83 miles of PVC

8 miles of other materials

The city also identifies approximately 65 miles of pipe remaining from the 1950s and 1960s.

Staff says the long-term goal is to replace all cast-iron mains as efficiently and affordably as possible.

Staff prefers 5.1 miles per year

The city's preferred option goes beyond the 1% benchmark.

Under Plan B — Standard Plus .5%, Salina would attempt to replace approximately 1.5% of its system annually, or about 5.1 miles per year.

The plan estimates 25.35 miles of replacement every five years at a cost of approximately $48.35 million per five-year period, based on the current $1.907 million-per-mile estimate.

At that pace, the city estimates it would take approximately 35 years to replace the existing cast-iron mains.

Staff specifically identifies Plan B as its preferred option. It would require debt financing but would allow the city to perform design and project management internally, according to the presentation.

A slower option based on the 1% AWWA benchmark would replace about 3.4 miles annually and take an estimated 52 years to replace the cast-iron system.

The fastest option presented would replace approximately 10.1 miles annually, but staff estimates that option would require a 17% increase in 2027 followed by additional increases and substantial outside engineering and debt costs.

Water rates have already increased

Salina water and sewer rates increased 5% for 2026.

The city's presentation shows recent increases of:

2023 — 0%2024 — 1.5%2025 — 2.5%2026 — 5%

Under the staff-preferred replacement scenario, the proposed 2027 water increase would jump to 15%.

The city estimates every 1% water-rate increase generates approximately $247,000 annually across the water and wastewater system.

More utility spending is ahead

The water-main discussion is only part of the city's long-term utility costs.

The presentation identifies approximately $190.8 million in debt-supported water and wastewater projects, including a planned $58 million Downtown Water Treatment Plant upgrade, wastewater treatment projects and additional water mains.

Those projects are included in the city's rate projections.

One major future expense is not: lead service-line replacement beginning in 2028, for which the city says the cost is still to be determined.

Monday's discussion will give commissioners their first opportunity to decide how aggressively Salina should try to close the gap between its historical replacement pace and the replacement rate the Utilities Department says the system needs.