After more than a year of planning and beginning to rebuild the City of St. Pete's decaying sewer system, the bill is now headed to your mailbox. 

  • Utility bill to increase for St. Pete residents
  • Increase due to repairs to city's decaying sewer system
  • Bills to increase more than 16% starting Jan. 1

Starting Jan. 1, the price for your water and wastewater is going up more than 16 percent.

If you use reclaimed water, it jumps 25.5 percent. And the rates will go up every year for the next five years. 

For the average household that uses 4,000 gallons of water per month, you can expect to see between $11 and $17 added to your utility bill--something businesses worry will leave them high and dry. 

"I have to absorb within the retail business, maintenance and my installations. I just have to change my pricing a little bit, but not a lot thankfully," Michael Manlowe said. 

The money will go toward the $325 million in repairs and upgrades to the sewage system. 

Last year, the city spent around $7 million on storm water expansion.