A proposed increase in Charleston’s water rates will increase Eastern’s water bill by $20,000 if passed by the City Council next week.

The 2 percent hike is following an effort to raise water rates every year in Charleston in order to keep up with the escalating price of business and inflation, said Dean Barber, director of public works.

Despite a “special” rate on water bills, Barber said Eastern will also feel the effect of the increase. For each 1,000 gallons of water, the university will pay $6.72.

If the new rate is passed, Eastern’s rate will be 13 cents more than the present rate.

Eastern’s water bill is currently $980,000 and if the new rates are passed that number will increase by $20,000, Gary Reed, director of Utilities, said Wednesday.

“That’ll hurt where we are trying to conserve,” he said. “We feel any dollars that we can’t save these days.”

Funding to pay the increased water bill will come from state appropriated dollars as well as bond revenue money, Jeff Cooley, vice president for business affairs, said Wednesday.

Although the new rates will hurt the budget, Reed said the university’s current efforts to conserve water will continue.

“This rate increase will not negate our conservation efforts,” he said. “We’re doing significantly better conserving water. We’re still way ahead of the game.”

This year’s proposed rates is the second increase in Charleston since 1986, the other was a 20 percent increase in 1999.

This year’s proposed rate hike is following a new trend for the city in an effort to compete with inflation without having to increase the rates by large numbers like that of 1999, Barber said.

Barber reiterated that the new system of small increases each year to the water rate is better and will allow the city to keep up with inflation and the cost of business.

“That’s why we’ve adapted the strategy we have,” he said. “Either way we have to make increases. Instead of letting ourselves fall behind we make smaller increases annually.”

The water rate will be voted on at the next Charleston City Council meeting Tuesday and Reed said he will be prepared for the 2 percent increase to pass.

“We will find the money to pay the water bill,” he said. “By using less it will cost us less and maybe we can survive. We have to do what we can to survive this stuff.”