Binghamton University students who live off campus and area residents will soon feel the affects of a jump in local water and cable rates.

Water rates for the City of Binghamton are expected to rise by 40 percent by this time next year, and Time Warner Cable will increase their package rates by an average of about 2.6 percent.

“Water rates in the Binghamton area are to go up this August, but will not be reflected until the December 2008 billing,” said Andrew Block, director of community relations in the City of Binghamton.

The cost of water will initially increase by 30 percent, followed by another 10 percent in April of 2009. Between the two price surges, the water rate will eventually be $2.99 per unit, which is 748 gallons of water.

“Between 2002 and 2006 the water fund was entirely depleted,” Block said. “And for that reason there is nothing from the fund to offset costs.”

The price of the chemicals used for water treatment is increasing dramatically, while the consumption of water is lower than expected, causing a shortfall in the budget. The Water Department and the City had to take this into account, leading to the rate increase, Block explained.

The hike in cable costs is less significant than the water price uptick. David Whalen, vice president of public and government relations of Time Warner Cable’s central New York division, said 72 percent of customers now subscribe to special packages — including cable, Internet, phone or all three — contributing to the rise.

“The average increase of the cable rate is 2.6 percent. It pales in comparison to the water increase,” he said. “It used to be simple. Everyone used to have the same service and the same increase.”

The company sent 62 versions of a letter to each customer explaining how they will be affected by this rate increase, Whalen said. While the average number is 2.6 percent, some customers will see a bigger increase on their bills, while some rates will not increase at all, depending on their package.

“Cell phones tend to prevent people from signing up for triple play, and some double packages [cable and Internet] did not go up at all,” he added. “Students living off campus [will] see an increase to their bill, and students first moving off campus [will] pay the new prevailing rates.”

The cable network’s required transition to digital in February of 2009 will not affect the cable price for any student currently enrolled at BU. The Federal Communications Commission ruled that cable companies do not have to have a complete digital picture until 2012, giving Time Warner the ability to take care of transition prices for the next three years.

“Any student enrolled in Binghamton right now, if they move off campus within the next three years, [would] not have to pay extra for the transition to digital television service through Time Warner Cable service,” Whalen said.

Many factors contribute to the rent of an apartment, so it’s hard to say how these increases will affect the price of living off campus.

“There is not a general rule,” said Ellie Farfaglia, president of the Landlord Association of Broome County. “Every landlord is different, some include water. In many cases, students pay for water separately, but it depends on the house.”

Farfaglia said water rates have gone up consistently for the last 10 years, and that regardless of the house, residents are still going to be affected.

“Let’s face it, every time there is a rate raise, it hurts the citizens and it hurts the students,” Farfaglia said. “… Water rates, just like utility rates, are becoming out of sight, and the ones really struggling are the working poor and the families. They are taking a terrible hit.”

At least for the next academic year, BU will not be affected by the increases.

“We get our water from Vestal and our water rates are locked in until November of 2009,” said Leonard Kogut, administrator in the Office of the Associate VP. “For the following year, what we are doing with the Vestal water could have an impact, but we have a frozen rate till November of 2009. It’s hard to say what will happen after that.”