Dunkirk’s water plant is the exclusive supplier for the North County Water District.

The city of Dunkirk has officially raised the rate on water it sells to the North County Water District.

The move is no surprise as Dunkirk Department of Public Works Director Randy Woodbury has hinted at the move for weeks, in multiple meetings.

“The rate effective starting in April will be $5.27 per 1,000 gallons,” Woodbury said Tuesday. He added that “the current increase is 2% while the national inflation rate for the adjustment period was 3.5%.”

Woodbury said Mayor Kate Wdowiasz “and her team, along with (SUNY Fredonia) Water Economist Dr. Peter Reinelt, presented this to six (water district) officials on Monday.”

He pointed out that “the rate is annually adjusted by the cost and volume formula firmly embedded in the 40-year contract between the district and the city.” The contract specifies that Dunkirk is the district’s sole water supplier.

Woodbury added, “Prior rate adjustments tracked national inflation closely, but the current adjustment is buffered by ‘economy of scale’ as unit costs decrease as the district grows.

“The city and the district hope to continually grow for increased relative savings. Total water production by the city in 2024 was a billion gallons, which is about one-third of the state-of- the-art plant’s capacity of more than 3.5 billion gallons per year.”

District officials have recently been looking to work with the village of Fredonia, which has its own separate water system, but have met with opposition from some in the village.