Residents of East Stroudsburg Borough could see a change in their water bills. Borough Council on Tuesday proposed new rates and a revised billing structure for the municipal water service.

“We’re looking at making some major changes,” said Borough Manager Jim Phillips. “As a net result, most people will see a billing increase.”

East Stroudsburg faces a $5.4 million dam improvement project in its near future. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection requires dams to withstand probable maximum flood conditions. With parts of the system dating back to the 1800s, the borough’s Middle Dam won’t meet state standards without upgrades.

The borough expects costs to reinforce the dam will exceed $3.4 million after grants. They’ll need another $2 million to replace the raw water feed pipeline running through and from the dam. In the same two-year span, they also plan for a total $1.1 million in transmission and treatment improvements elsewhere in the system.

“It’s about financing the needs of our borough water system,” said Phillips. “We looked at different options for our water rates and structures. This is how we plan to do the capital improvements the borough will be working on for the next two years”

Rates have held steady without increase since 2010, he said. While rates would technically fall under the proposed revision, the borough would bill users for the full quantity consumed — a deviation from the current practice.

“Right now, everyone gets a 20-kiloliter minimum usage allowance,” he said. “Everyone with one equivalent billing unit (EBU) pays $45, then 88 cents for every kiloliter more than the allowance.” East Stroudsburg switched from measuring gallons to kiloliters in the 1980s, expecting a nationwide conversion to the metric system.

The proposal would eliminate the minimum usage allowance entirely. Users would still pay a cheaper $42-basic fee, but be charged a lower 85-cent usage rate for each kiloliter they consume. Usage-based billing would promote conservation and meet regulatory agency expectations, said Phillips.

Changes would also impact commercial and mixed-use water customers, currently billed by a different formula. The revision would standardize EBU calculations to simplify billing. A four-quarter average would determine EBU figures. New or converted commercial clients would have an estimated EBU amount initially, and the borough would adjust for actual use the next year.

Borough Council will hold a public hearing on the proposal during the March 21 regular meeting.