IRUA to raise water rates of customers by 14% in 2026

Iowa Regional Utilities Association is raising its water rates by 14 percent at the start of 2026 because of rising operating costs and “unprecedented escalations in its water purchase costs” from both Newton Waterworks and Marshalltown Water Works, the organization’s board of directors said in a letter to customers.

The majority of the water IRUA sells to its rural customers is purchased from these two primary suppliers.

The IRUA Board of Directors said in the letter that the City of Newton — which now manages Newton Waterworks — raised its water rates to IRUA by about 127 percent. The board also said Marshalltown Water Works has increased its water rates charged to IRUA by approximately 99 percent since 2019.

“These increasing costs make up a significant portion of IRUA’s operating expenses, and are a driving factor in the need for IRUA to increase the rates it charges its members and customers by 14 percent beginning on Jan. 1, 2026,” the board of directors said, noting IRUA is a not-for-profit organization.

Keeping rates low is a priority for IRUA, which strives to balance the expectation to keep rates low as possible “without compromising on delivering a high-quality and reliable service and maintaining a financially sound organization,” the letter said. The board thanked IRUA customers for their confidence and support.

The letter from the board also hinted at a possible large-scale project that could help mitigate rate issues for IRUA into the future.

“IRUA regrets the need for a rate increase of this magnitude, but looks positively into the future as it plans to shift away from reliance on third-party water suppliers and into a position of water supply independence by owning and operating its own water production and treatment facilities,” the IRUA Board said.

Matt Mahler, CEO of IRUA, told Newton News in a follow-up that the rate increase was a challenging decision the board of directors took very seriously and that IRUA is, indeed, in the early stages of planning and constructing its own water production and treatment infrastructure.

However, he stressed IRUA is still gathering information like source water availability, source water quality, project locations and preliminary engineering report development. No decisions have been made regarding the treatment type or physical water plant design just yet.

It could take up to 10 years before any project becomes fully online.

Mahler said the infrastructure IRUA is currently planning would serve the southern portion of its water distribution network. The water produced by the infrastructure will serve all customers of IRUA across this region, including individual rural customers, businesses and wholesale community customers.

“Again, with it being so early in the process the exact area that will be served by the proposed water treatment infrastructure is still being established,” he said.