NEW YORK, NY July 02, 2007 —New York City property owners get ready. Today you'll start paying 11.5 percent more for municipal water. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has more.

It's the biggest hike in 15 years and will cost the average single family homeowner $72 more a year. City Council critics say the City water utility was too quick to turn to ratepayers to close its budget gap. They say the utility should first collect the more than $17O million in unpaid water bills that in many cases have remained uncollected for years.

The City rarely shuts off water for non-payment and now wants the power to attach a lien on properties in serious arrearage. The City has spent billions on construction to maintain its water distribution and sewage treatment systems for the 21st century even as the Federal Government reduced its share of support. Now 39 cents of every dollar in City water revenue goes just to cover debt service on past borrowing to pay for water system construction. For WNYC I am Bob Hennelly