CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Starting in 2025, Cheyenne utility consumers will be paying 10% more for water services and 8% more for sewer services compared to current service rates.
On Monday night, the Cheyenne City Council approved an ordinance setting in place new water and sewer rates recommended by the city’s Board of Public Utilities. The higher rates will go into effect Jan. 1, 2025.
Cheyenne city councilmembers initially met with BOPU staff in April to discuss raising utility rates to local consumers. At the meeting, staff with the utility department stated they are raising service prices due to a higher cost-of-living inflation index in Cheyenne, at 6%. Cost of chemicals and energy is getting more expensive, too. The revenue generated from the rate increases will also be used to finance ongoing department projects. The rate increases are anticipated to bring the BOPU an additional $1.6 million in revenue, Brad Bowen, administration division manager for the BOPU, said at April’s meeting.
The city’s governing body is required to revisit the BOPU’s rates every year, Mayor Patrick Collins said Monday night.
The following is a line-by-line comparison of water and sewer rates for 2024 and 2025, per the ordinance:
Water Rates


Sewer Rates


The above rates for both sewer and water are 1.5 times higher for consumers based outside the city of Cheyenne, according to the ordinance.
Councilmember Mark Rinne provided additional context to the rate increases. He stated the city owns around 120 miles of clay pipe that needs to be replaced and thousands of other services that will likely have to be updated by 2027.
“I’m not sure people understand the cost that it takes to keep our system going,” Rinne said. “And our system — when you turn the tap on, you get clear, clean water. … We have a system that works, it works well, and costs money to maintain that. So obviously, like I said, we’ve all gotten some objections and feedback to the increase. But if we’re gonna continue to have a well-functioning system, we need to pay for it.”
Councilmembers Tom Segrave stated the cost of chemicals and energy has gone up, which played into the decision to increase customer rates. He added that this is the first year since 2022 that rates have increased for residents.
“No one likes to do this, no one likes to increase rates. I’d rather do it annually than go two or three years and get hit with a 30 or 40% rate increase,” he said.
All councilmembers except Michelle Aldrich and Bryan Cook voted in favor of the ordinance.
To view the city’s ordinance in its entirety, see the document below.