Question 1

Why do my water and sewer bills keep going up?

Accepted Answer

Because of a 2015 consent decree (a binding legal agreement) between the City of Fort Smith and the U.S. EPA, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. After decades of sanitary-sewer overflows into the Arkansas River and other waterways, the decree requires the city to repair and upgrade its sewer system. The total work has been estimated at roughly $800 million, and the rate increases are how the city pays for it.

Question 2

How much are sewer rates going up, and for how long?

Accepted Answer

Sewer rates rise 3.5% per year. The first increase took effect June 1, 2025, and another 3.5% increase takes effect each January 1 through 2030. For an average household this works out to roughly an extra $3 per month each year. This is the sewer portion of your bill only.

Question 3

What about the water rate? Did that change too?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A water-rate increase took effect August 1, 2025. It was the first water-rate increase since 2011. For a typical low-volume household (about 3 CCF of water) it added on the order of a couple of dollars a month. The water increase and the sewer increases are separate line items on your bill.

Question 4

What is the consent decree, in plain words?

Accepted Answer

It is a court-enforced settlement. The city admitted its sewer system had been overflowing and polluting waterways, and agreed to a long list of repairs and upgrades on a deadline, overseen by federal and state regulators. If the city misses its obligations it can face penalties. The decree is the legal reason the rate increases exist, rather than a choice the city made on its own.

Question 5

Wasn't the deadline supposed to be sooner? What changed in 2025?

Accepted Answer

Originally the 15-year decree was set to expire January 1, 2027. In March 2025 the city's Board of Directors approved a modification, agreed with the regulators, that extended the compliance deadline by 11.5 years to June 30, 2038. The extension spreads the enormous cost of the work over more years, which is part of why the rate increases run on a long, gradual schedule rather than arriving all at once.

Question 6

Where can I see the exact current rates for my bill?

Accepted Answer

The City of Fort Smith Utility Department publishes the official water, sewer, and sanitation rate sheet online. Your bill is calculated from a base service fee plus the volume of water used and sewer discharged, so the rate sheet is the authoritative source for the current figures. The link is below.

Water & Sewer Rates

Water & Sewer Rates

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