By Steve Plunkett
Gulf Stream residents will face higher water bills this fall before the town switches its water provider from Delray Beach to Boynton Beach.
The town was already braced for Delray Beach’s expected boost from $4.49 per 1,000 gallons to $5.28 per 1,000 come Oct. 1. That long-planned 18% increase was part of Gulf Stream’s motivation to find a new provider.
But in a May 9 letter to Delray Beach city commissioners, Delray Beach City Manager Terrence Moore said Gulf Stream wants service to continue until October 2027 and that his utilities director will “evaluate potential rate adjustments to offset increased service-related expenses.”
No dollar amount was given, and Gulf Stream Town Manager Greg Dunham said neither Moore nor Delray Beach Utilities Director Hassan Hadjimiry had contacted the town with a figure.
When Gulf Stream connects to Boynton Beach’s system, the cost to town customers will plummet to $3.75 per 1,000 gallons under a 25-year agreement the town and the city signed last fall.
But before that can happen, a water main must be laid from Seacrest Boulevard east along Gulfstream Boulevard to a connection just inside the entrance to Place Au Soleil.
The main will be installed in conjunction with a roadway improvement project on Gulfstream Boulevard, which separates Boynton Beach and Delray Beach. Both cities are sharing the cost of improving the road.
“The most up-to-date estimate for this work to be completed is 18 months,” Dunham told Moore in an April 15 letter. “Thank you for continuing to provide water during this transition period.”
The water arrangement has soured relations between Delray Beach and Gulf Stream somewhat. Dunham has said the town first approached Moore in August 2022 to see if he would lower the customary 25% surcharge that Gulf Stream was paying, the maximum the state allows.
But Delray Beach said no and encouraged the town to seek a better rate elsewhere.
“It was only at the Delray Beach city manager’s direction that the town started talking with the city of Boynton Beach and its utility department,” Dunham has said.
As recently as April 12, 2024, Assistant Town Attorney Trey Nazzaro said it looked like Gulf Stream would be renewing its contract with Delray Beach. But six days later Dunham told Moore that the town would switch its water provider to Boynton Beach.
And six days after that, Moore told Gulf Stream officials that the town would have to get off the city’s water system by June 17, 2025.
He also said Gulf Stream “has been on formal notice of the city’s intention not to renew the agreement since May of 2022, if not before.”
At the time, Delray Beach was charging the town $3.81 per 1,000 gallons.
Delray Beach is raising its water rates to pay for building a new water plant. The city says it can only afford a plant large enough to serve its own population, which is expected to grow by 7,000 residents.
Water payments from the newcomers will more than offset the money Gulf Stream has been paying.
Delray Beach has supplied Gulf Stream with water since at least 1976. It also provides fire rescue services for the town and until August 2022 handled its building permits.
Along with lower rates, Gulf Stream expects to get better water pressure from Boynton Beach once it connects.
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