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HAMILTON — Residents don't just purchase water with their water bill. A big part of the cost comes from pipes and other capital costs needed to get the clear stuff from well to washbasin.

Nearly every utility in Butler County gets its water from the same place: the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer. It's a huge lake hundreds of feet underground, stretching from north of Dayton to the Ohio River a mile to the east and west of the Great Miami River.

The only exception is Butler County Environmental Services. A fraction of its water comes from the Ohio River via Cincinnati Water Works.

"We're extremely lucky in this region to have such a large aquifer system," said Tim McLelland, coordinator of the Hamilton to New Baltimore Groundwater Consortium. "That's a big reason why you have a lot of businesses here, including Miller Brewing Company."

Maintenance, growth float costs

The area's groundwater needs minimal treatment, McLelland said. But utility managers say it's not cheap to get it from underground to the tap.

The county's most expensive water is in the village of College Corner, where 22,500 gallons of water over three months — the average usage for a family of four — would cost homeowners roughly $196.58.

College Corner officials said few pay this much because almost no one uses this much water, but they said their water costs for the village's few hundred residents are bloated.

"As we replace streets, we're trying to replace water lines because they're 30 to 40 years old," said Joe Compton, chairman of College Corner's public affairs board.

Compton said that laying pipe on three blocks of one street alone recently cost $60,000.

"We're working to upgrade the water so it's sufficient for the town to grow," he said.

Other major costs include buying the water for utilities like College Corner and Butler County that don't pump their own, and maintaining the system, according to Butler County Environmental Services Director Sue Vance.

"Most people would be very surprised to learn of the complexities involved in the process of delivering safe, high quality drinking water," Vance said.

Some rates still rising

College Corner buys its water from the Southwest Regional Water District, which serves about 15,000 homes in the unincorporated portion of Butler County and parts of Hamilton and Preble counties.

Bob Hubbard, general manager of Southwest Regional Water District, said rural systems like his are forced to charge more for water than municipal systems. He has 650 miles of pipe to maintain, and only 20 homes per mile of pipe, compared to 50 or 60 in city systems.

"As our density improves, we're going to see our rates improve as well," he said. "That's not happening the last couple of years because we're not seeing any housing built."

In fact, the utility raised its rates 5 percent in January and is planning a 4 percent raise in 2009 and 3 percent in 2010.

"Our rates compare rather favorably when you compare to other rural systems," Hubbard said.

Cities see lower costs, similar challenges

In the cities, costs go down dramatically. But the variables are the same.

"Our system being old, we have a lot of capital improvements we need to do," said Hamilton Gas and Water Director Jim Collins.

This is why city ratepayers — now paying roughly half what is paid in the townships or for Southwest's water — are looking at 6 percent rate increases a year for the next five years, Collins said.

Though Hamilton's and Middletown's systems are roughly the same size, Hamilton's rates are lower. Fairfield's system is smaller, and cheaper, than both.

Middletown Engineering and Environmental Services Director Dave Duritsch said residents there pay a little more for water softener and other steps that improve water quality.

"I think we have very affordable rates in addition to providing a very high quality of water," he said.

Middletown's rates didn't go up this year, but are expected to jump 5 percent in 2009.

Fairfield, by contrast, has the cheapest water largely because its system is so new, said Fairfield Public Utilities Director Dwight Culbertson.

"Being a little over 50 years old, much of our structure is newer and doesn't require as much maintenance," Culbertson said. "I think that over the long haul our rates are going to continue to stay competitive compared to the market, and that's encouraging."