AUBURN — Auburn Utility General Manager Ray Luhring told the City Council on Monday that the eight-month Stage 3 water emergency this year has placed a heavy financial burden on the city’s water department.
Luhring reported that residential water revenues in 2024 topped $800,000, yet the 2025 budget projects about $100,000 less. Meanwhile, production and distribution costs have continued to rise.
To address the issue, the utility developed the Long’s Creek Project, which would use surface water to feed the city’s water distribution system. Luhring said expenses for the project may begin phasing in with the 2026 budget, adding that a rate study is needed to find a long-term water solution.
He also noted that Auburn’s electrical department expects higher wholesale power costs from the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), WAPA, and the Southwest Power Pool.
In response to growing energy demands, Auburn is one of seven municipalities to sign a new 35-year wholesale power agreement with NPPD. Luhring said NPPD is building new generation facilities to meet “drastically increasing demand for electrical power.”
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