Bloomington Commercial Water Rates Rise Up to 48% on August 1

Per the June 26 IURC settlement order, City of Bloomington Utilities is approved to raise drinking water rates effective August 1, with the 48% ceiling applying to commercial and industrial customers. This is a deliberate cost-of-service rebalancing, CBU's consultants argued large users had been underpaying relative to actual consumption. IU alone used 622 million gallons last year, more than all commercial customers combined.

The governance question matters more than the number. Indiana Code IC 8-1.5-3-9 gives Bloomington an option to exit IURC jurisdiction. The city has not moved on it. If it does, future rate disputes go to Monroe County courts, and both the IURC and the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor lose their roles as neutral checkpoints. For IU, IU Health, and the Chamber's 900 members, that is the proceeding to monitor. The debt floor created by the bond financing behind this case will drive the next review cycle, and the time to engage is before the governance decision, not after.