Lincoln's New Wastewater Plant and Your Monthly Sewer Bill: What Buyers Comparing Lincoln and Bismarck Should Know

Take two households that each use 6,000 gallons of water a month, one in Lincoln and one in Bismarck. Under each city's posted residential rates, the Lincoln household pays about $101.25 for water and sewer. The Bismarck household pays about $61.80. Both figures are our own math from the published rate schedules.

The line on the Lincoln bill most likely to change is the $22.25 sewer charge. It is flat, it doesn't change with usage, and it was set for a system that carries no debt. Lincoln is now preparing to build a wastewater treatment plant estimated at about $30 million. The city's rate consultant has already modeled what that could do to the average sewer bill. If you're comparing homes in Lincoln and Bismarck, you're also comparing a sewer charge that stays fairly steady in one city with one that is still being decided in the other.

The $22.25 line a buyer sees today

Lincoln's residential utility page lists a $23.00 flat water charge, $8.60 per 1,000 gallons of water, a $4.40 Special Fund Water Infrastructure charge that runs from March 1, 2023 through February 28, 2043, and a flat $22.25 Sewer Use charge. The sewer charge has no per-gallon component. Meters are read at month-end and bills go out by the 5th.

Bismarck's 2026 single-family schedule works differently. It has a $10.41 monthly base for a 5/8-inch water meter and an $11.54 sewer base. Water costs $1.80 per unit for the first eight units, sewer costs $3.16 per unit, and one unit is 748 gallons.

The Bismarck figures prorate partial units, and the small amount above eight units is billed at Bismarck's next water tier.

Look at the sewer row. Lincoln's sewer charge is lower than Bismarck's today. Most of the current gap is on the water side, and sewer is where the coming change sits.

Growth reached the lagoons before the replacement was funded

Lincoln treats wastewater in lagoons. When the Fargo-based InForum reported on the project in April 2025, Mayor Keli Berglund said that because of high growth in recent years, the sewer system was operating at capacity and was stressed.

The growth also shows up in the city's planning papers. In 2024, Lincoln billed an average of 1,708 residential sewer connections a month. The city's October 2025 rate review projects about 3% more residential connections each year through 2030 and no commercial growth. A June 2, 2026 engineering memo, written during review of the Ridge Fourth Addition, said analysis showed the existing sanitary sewer was operating above its designed maximum capacity. A later engineering report said the main sewer lines for that addition had been upsized for the flows expected.

So new subdivisions keep being reviewed, and the shared system they connect to is being rebuilt. Under the city's current rate structure, there are no other identified revenue sources for the Sewer Fund beyond rates.

How an $18 million plant became a $30 million one

1. Fiscal Year 2022. Lincoln received $7.8 million in federal BRIC grant funding for a wastewater treatment plant.
2. April 2025. FEMA ended the BRIC program and canceled unspent awards. InForum reported that the plant's cost had doubled since 2022, to an expected $18 million, and that Berglund called the loss of funding "a major setback."
3. August 2026. The city engineer told council that a state revolving fund loan was "still on the table at just under $8 Million." At the August 20 update, the project cost was "around $30 million," and the schedule at that point targeted contract award in October and a construction start in November.
4. September 2026. The city's plan was to apply for the full potential loan, then draw only what is needed once grant and bid results are known.
5. October 8, 2026. North Dakota's Department of Emergency Services posted a final notice that FEMA proposes BRIC assistance to Lincoln for retiring the lagoons and building a mechanical plant at the existing lagoon site off Lagoon Road and North Benteen Drive. The notice says treating wastewater jointly with Bismarck was considered and found cost-prohibitive.
6. October 22, 2026. The city's update said FEMA review remains the trigger for advertising the project for bids, with FEMA and state funding paths moving forward while final design continues. The August dates were schedule targets, and bidding now follows FEMA's review.

The plant also isn't the only sewer item in the city's plans. Lincoln's August 2026 draft Capital Improvement Plan lists $38.38 million in sewer planning values, including the wastewater facility and the Dolan trunk mains. These are draft figures, not adopted budgets.

What the city's consultant modeled for the average bill

In October 2025, the engineering firm SEH gave the City Council a sewer rate review. It noted that the Sewer Fund currently carries no debt and that loan payments for the plant are expected to begin in 2027. As a placeholder, it estimated annual debt service at $1,573,579. It projected a 2026 deficit of about $275,000, growing to nearly $2.2 million by 2030 with the loan.

Its proposed residential schedule looks like this.

The memo's own wording sets the limits on that table. SEH recommended adding the volume fee in 2026. It described the 2027 increase as "for illustration purposes only" and "not necessarily a recommendation," with timing and amounts depending on final financing. In July 2025, council minutes recorded that the city attorney was checking how approval of the rate study should be handled. Lincoln's posted rate page still lists the flat $22.25 sewer charge.

Here's a rough check on the scale, using our own arithmetic. SEH projected 1,813 residential connections for 2026. Divide the $1,573,579 placeholder payment across that many households over 12 months and you get roughly $72 per connection per month. That is about three times today's flat sewer charge, before any operating costs. The 20 commercial connections would carry a small share.

Why the grant matters most for the bill

The SEH placeholder was set when the plant was estimated at well under today's figure. The loan amount, and therefore the monthly payment, depends on how much grant money comes through. When BRIC was active, the program typically covered 75% of a funded project, the state covered 10%, and local governments covered 15%, according to state Emergency Services documents cited by InForum. The October 2026 DES notice confirms that FEMA proposes BRIC assistance for Lincoln but doesn't state an amount.

Because the city intends to borrow only what grants and bids leave uncovered, every grant dollar is a dollar that doesn't have to be repaid through sewer rates. The size of the federal award and the bid prices will shape the 2027 Lincoln sewer bill more than anything that happens at a showing.

Bismarck has its own pressures. The Bismarck Tribune reported a proposed 3.5% water rate increase for 2027, partly tied to potential loan costs for a water treatment plant. For a single-family home using 6,000 gallons, the paper estimated the increase at about $10 a year. Both cities are paying for treatment plants. Lincoln is spreading the cost of a far bigger project across fewer than 2,000 sewer accounts, while Bismarck's proposed increase is measured in dollars per year.

Questions to settle before an offer on a Lincoln home

None of this makes Lincoln more or less expensive than Bismarck. It means the carrying cost of a Lincoln home includes a variable that a seller's past utility bills won't show. Before writing an offer, consider these steps:

• Ask the seller for recent utility bills, and read the sewer line separately from the water line. Today's statements show the flat charge.
• Check the current rate page on the City of Lincoln site close to closing, and look for any rate ordinance on recent council agendas.
• Read the city's project updates, which the city engineer presents to council, for the latest on the wastewater facility and its funding.
• Run your monthly budget at more than one sewer figure. The SEH table gives a planning range from $22.25 to $116.43 for an average household.
• For new construction, ask the builder or the city about the subdivision's sewer connections, since sewer capacity has come up during review of newer additions.

This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. If utility costs affect your loan qualification or budget, confirm your situation with your lender or another qualified professional.

Quick answers

Has Lincoln raised its sewer rate for the plant yet? The city's posted residential rate is still a flat $22.25 Sewer Use charge. The higher figures come from SEH's October 2025 rate review, which recommended a 2026 volume fee and presented a 2027 increase for illustration only.

Where will the plant be built? At the site of the existing lagoons, northwest of town at the end of Lagoon Road and North Benteen Drive, with treated water discharged to Apple Creek.

Why not connect to Bismarck's system? FEMA's final notice lists joint treatment with Bismarck as an alternative the city considered and found cost-prohibitive.

If you're comparing homes in Lincoln and Bismarck and want help putting the utility side next to the purchase price, Lonna and Mike Quast can help. We'll pull a home's utility history, point you to the city's latest wastewater updates, and talk through the numbers calmly before you make an offer. Contact Us whenever you're ready.