Stow City Council is weighing its first local water rate increase since the city took over the system from Akron in 2001, as officials warn that aging pipes and thinning cash reserves have left the utility badly behind. The proposal, a four-year schedule of fee hikes running from 2027 through 2030, would raise money for infrastructure upgrades and shore up a water fund that slipped into negative territory earlier this year.
The measure, known as Ordinance 2026-137, cleared its first reading before the full council on September 24 after a council committee voted 3-1 to advance the plan, according to Citizen Portal. As Cleveland.com reports, council discussed the ordinance but took no vote, leaving the four-year schedule pending further deliberation. The plan is championed by Councilman Cyle Feldman, whose proposal beat out an alternative two-year accelerated structure that some members had floated.
Under the schedule, the monthly administrative fee would climb from $2.81 in 2027 to $3.95 by 2030, per Cleveland.com's reporting. Volume charges for water usage would also rise in stages, moving to $4.22 per 100 cubic feet in 2027, $4.60 in 2028, $5.98 in 2029, and $5.36 in 2030. A separate stormwater fee would increase from $6.10 to $6.40 per household over the same period, while water improvement fees would vary depending on meter size.
A Discount Grows, But the Rules Stay the Same
Not every change in the ordinance pushes costs higher. The water-bill discount for qualifying fixed-income and disabled residents would grow from 10 percent to 15 percent, Cleveland.com notes, though the eligibility requirements for who qualifies would not change. If adopted, the rate ordinance would take effect 30 days after passage.
This is not council's first attempt at the issue. Members rejected an earlier rate-adjustment measure, Ordinance No. 2025-182, on November 6, 2025, after a consultant rate study was first presented back in May of that year, according to city records. Stow had originally brought on Raftelis Financial Consultants under Ordinance 2024-216 in late 2024 to study water and stormwater rates, later amending the contract's spending limit in July 2025 as the modeling work expanded.
Why the City Says It Can't Wait Any Longer
City finance officials describe a utility under mounting strain. Water-main breaks rose 89 percent in 2024 compared with the prior year, and Stow logged more than 65 breaks in 2025, per the same Cleveland.com account. Both the water capital and operating funds carried negative balances for the first half of 2026.
Angela Revay said water operating revenue from user fees was running about $100,000 below the same period last year, the outlet reported. The city had budgeted $5.7 million in water capital revenue for 2026 but isn't expected to collect the full amount, by the city's own estimate. “We're still playing catch-up,” Revay said, adding that even the newly proposed increase would barely cover the city's needs, according to Cleveland.com.
Feldman struck a similar tone, saying Stow cannot continue falling behind on infrastructure and cannot afford to get behind again the way it did without a rate increase, per the same reporting. The capital wish list behind that urgency is substantial: a second water tower is estimated to cost between $17 million and $21 million because the existing system does not meet current water-capacity standards. Replacing more than 10,000 residential and commercial meters is projected to run $7.5 million to $8 million, and the city has identified roughly $14 million in water-main replacement needs.
A Wholesale Deal That Dates Back Two Decades
Stow's rate pressures are tangled up with a jurisdictional arrangement that predates most current council members. The city regained municipal ownership of its distribution network from Summit County in November 2001, then signed a 99-year wholesale water agreement with the City of Akron in December 2006, according to city records. Under that deal, Stow distributes water but relies on Akron for treatment and primary supply, meaning Stow's rate increases have historically been tied to the cost of purchasing water from Akron rather than to local system upgrades.
That water travels a long way before reaching Stow taps. It originates in the Upper Cuyahoga River watershed and is treated at Akron's Lake Rockwell plant in Portage County, then pumped through booster stations in neighboring Munroe Falls via 36-inch to 54-inch force mains, per city documentation. Local distribution charges, meanwhile, had barely moved: core residential water charges were set at $2.43 per billing cycle with a $3.13 usage charge per hundred cubic feet effective January 2005, and those local rates went largely unchanged for more than two decades even as Akron's wholesale costs were passed through.
Stow's role as a regional water hub extends beyond its own borders. The neighboring Village of Silver Lake was evaluating an 80-year contract in September 2026 to purchase Akron wholesale water routed through Stow's system, projecting $243,022 in annual savings compared with staying tied to Cuyahoga Falls, according to Citizen Portal. The pattern of long-deferred rate increases followed by steep catch-up hikes is not unique to Stow, either — Summit County's Department of Sanitary Sewer Services, which handles wastewater for Stow and 20 other communities, similarly brought on Raftelis Financial Consultants to design multi-year increases after going without a rate hike since 2011.
The water rate debate also lands amid a broader season of municipal spending in Stow. Council unanimously approved a separate five-year, $57 million capital improvement plan in September that funds citywide road resurfacing, stormwater management, and The AMP entertainment complex, putting the water utility's needs in context alongside the city's other infrastructure commitments. For now, the water rate ordinance remains before council with no vote yet taken, leaving its fate for a future meeting.
