Every community has different conditions that affect the ability to provide safe and reliable water and sewer service. Below are primary reasons that Hillsborough’s water and sewer rates are higher than those of some surrounding communities.
Small System — Hillsborough operates a small water and sewer system. A larger system can spread the costs of operations among more customers.
Small Water Supply — The Eno River does not provide a large volume of water. The town is near the river's beginning, and the drainage basin that feeds into Hillsborough’s waterways is relatively small.
Partnering with a neighboring system is likely not feasible. The Carrboro-Chapel Hill area is in a different river basin, and a past evaluation found costs for partnering with Durham to be too expensive.
The town built a reservoir in the late 1990s and completed an expansion of it in 2021 to address water capacity needs because of expected growth and a history of droughts.
Debt Management — A large portion of water and sewer bill payments helps pay the debt on projects to provide clean and reliable water and sewer service, including:
- Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrades — $17.8 million financed with payments until 2034.
- Reservoir expansion — $10.2 million financed with payments until 2042.
- Roads project for reservoir expansion — $3.3 million financed with payments until 2030.
By law, the town must pass a balanced budget each year. Planned expenses cannot fall below expected revenue, and debt payments cannot create a deficit.
State Rules — Hillsborough must treat its wastewater at higher and more expensive standards than other sewer systems because its watershed drains into Falls Lake. The lake has been deemed impaired by the Environmental Protection Agency and nutrient-sensitive by the North Carolina Division of Water Resources.
The state's Falls Lake Rules to protect and restore the lake’s water quality are said to be the nation’s strictest limits on treated wastewater.
In 2014, Hillsborough completed upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant in part to meet the Stage 1 wastewater rule that went into effect in 2016. A large portion of customers' sewer payments helps pay debt on the plant upgrades. Stage 2 rules, expected in 2036, likely will require more upgrades.
Expensive and Older Infrastructure — Hillsborough has more sewage pump stations than a typical municipality because of its terrain and likely because of low upfront costs. Gravity is the most cost-effective way to transport water and wastewater.
Pump stations are expensive to operate, require a large amount of staff time and can result in overflows and state fines when they fail. The town operates 25 stations in about 5 square miles. Most were built by developers, are old and were not built to today's standards.
The town also must budget to replace other infrastructure. Some were installed well before the town's treatment plants were built.
Maintenance Commitment — Water and sewer services are expensive to provide. The United States poorly maintains its drinking and wastewater infrastructure, earning grades of C- and D+ in the 2025 Report Card for America's Infrastructure from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Across North Carolina, $20 billion is needed to maintain and improve drinking water infrastructure and $12.6 billion is needed for wastewater infrastructure.
Hillsborough is committed to taking care of its operations. Your water and sewer bill reflects your contribution to the labor and the physical infrastructure required to have clean water available and to have wastewater removed and safely returned to the environment.
The town does not profit from providing water and sewer service. It uses water and sewer revenue only for the operation, maintenance and improvement of the town’s water and sewer system.
Videos