Avondale weighs $167M PFAS cleanup and steep water-rate increases to meet federal limits

Avondale officials told the City Council that treating forever-chemicals in the city's drinking water will be expensive and will almost certainly require borrowing and higher utility bills.

"Seventy percent of our city's water production capacity exceeds the PFAS limit," Kirk said, summarizing the feasibility work staff presented. City engineers estimate design will start in July 2026 and construction in January 2029 to meet the EPA's recommended compliance window.

The nut of the matter is money: staff updated the capital estimate for PFAS treatment to about $167,000,000 and said ongoing operating costs would rise by roughly $4,000,000 a year once the systems are online. That price reflects refined design needs and equipment scope since earlier feasibility work.

Council was shown two financing-and-rate scenarios. The first aims to meet the EPA-recommended compliance date (staff used a working planning date that would get systems operational by 2031) and uses multiple issuances of revenue bonds for design and construction. Under that plan, the water-treatment surcharge on the bill would need to rise from about 7.5% of a typical residential water bill to about 30% in the first full year of debt service; the illustrative monthly bill for a typical household moves from roughly $42.66 now to an estimated $77.23 in later years.

Renee Weatherless, the finance director, told council: "That 7.5% would need to increase to 30% in fiscal '28 and remain at that level to be able to sustain the debt we need to issue for this project." She also laid out a slower path that phases treatment and financing so compliance is achieved by 2034. That route produces a lower near-term jump (to roughly $51.27 monthly in the near term under staff estimates) but risks higher cumulative cost if construction inflation or regulatory changes push up project costs.

Staff emphasized limited alternatives. Kirk explained that shutting off affected wells would remove too much supply from the system and that building large surface-water treatment or relying on another city's treated supply would be slower, more expensive or operationally impractical given Avondale's current system: "Treatment for us is really the most cost effective and most feasible option." He also noted the city has collected about $5 million so far through litigation tied to PFAS sources, but that sum is a fraction of the capital need.

Council members expressed concern about the potential impact on fixed- and low-income residents. Several elected officials asked staff to continue pursuing federal advocacy and grant options while preparing borrowing documents. City staff said they plan to return with a bond package request (first design-phase issuance) and to present formal rate proposals next year: staff signaled they would need council permission to issue initial utility revenue bonds as soon as May.

The council did not approve final financing tonight; members asked staff to refine scenarios that preserve the city's debt-coverage policy and limit the immediate burden on households while keeping the city on a trajectory to address the PFAS compliance timeline.

The next step: staff will bring bond-issuance paperwork and formal rate proposals to the council in the coming months and continue federal and legal advocacy to offset costs where possible.