AUBURN -- A proposed water rate increase at the start of the upcoming fiscal year may save taxpayers more in the end.

Auburn City Council conducted its first work session of the season Thursday with the focus on water usage and unaccounted for treated water. The city may spend an estimated $156,000 to solve its ongoing problem of pumping more treated water than is paid for, which would result in an addition of a dime for every 100 cubic feet on an user's bill.

City Manager Mark Palesh expects this rate boost for the summer. Mayor Timothy Lattimore said the tightened system will benefit taxpayers as other costs rise, such as chemicals, labor and electricity.

A group of staff members suggested solutions to prevent the loss of water to leaks and reducing the amount going to unmetered facilities. While the city does not bill for nearly 45 percent of treated water, only 35.9 percent is unaccounted for, Palesh clarified.

The gap results from expected leaks in an aged system and the water used by city departments and facilities.

"The American Water Works Association allows for 20 to 30 percent, so if you look at the worst case, we're only 5.9 percent over, but we'll try to (reduce losses by) 25.9 percent to get down to 20 percent and we'll tweak it from there," Palesh said.

Officials have begun the process of hiring crews to make repairs to the reservoirs, as well as companies to install an electronic system that will provide data from meters and pumps and help operate them efficiently.

Other proposals for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1, include finding contractors to conduct a leak detection survey, purchase software to plot main points in the water infrastructure, notify homeowners when workers detect private leaks and install meters in city buildings that don't have them.

Lattimore has asked repeatedly to know how much it costs the city to treat water. On Thursday, the answer came -- 7 cents for 100 gallons.

Read more in Friday's edition of The Citizen.