FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): For the first time in more than a decade, stormwater rates in Fort Wayne are going up.

The City Council approved a 75-cent increase to the monthly residential rate, which will go up from $3.65 to $4.40 per month starting on July 1st, with 75-cent bumps in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

City Utilities Director Kumar Menon says the money is needed to pay for $40-million worth of drainage improvements:

“Stormwater funding is a program that’s considered the ‘orphan child’ of utilities,” Menon says. “It’s always underfunded and hasn’t seen any increases in funding for more than a decade now.”

Officials say the last time rates were raised 11 years ago they were able to finish 30 projects that protected 28,000 homes from stormwater damage like flooding or standing water.