Lawrence city commissioners are having a tough time settling on water rates for 2005 and beyond.

Commissioners on Tuesday asked consultants to come up with a new proposal for water rates — one that would reduce costs for small-volume users without eliminating the discount now received by high-end users.

And they struggled with the importance of water conservation in setting those rates.

“I think that it’s true we may have been sidetracked, in a way, by the conversation about conservation,” Commissioner David Dunfield said. “But at the same time, I think the statement that conserving city resources is a city goal is a statement our rate structure should make.”

But Commissioner David Schauner warned that a heavy emphasis on conservation might drive down the city’s water revenues.

“If we do rise to the occasion in conserving water, the revenue will go down and we’ll have to raise rates again,” he said.

Under current water rates, the city charges residential customers $6.55 for the first 2,000 gallons of water used during a month. After that, the charge is $2.52 per 1,000 gallons up to 20,000 gallons, then slides to $1.92 per 1,000 gallons after that, up to 500,000 gallons.

In other words, the biggest residential users of water pay the cheapest rates.

“The existing declining block rate structure actually sends a price signal to the highest residential peak users of the system to use more water,” said Keith Barber, a consultant with Black & Veatch, the Overland Park company creating rate recommendations for the city.

Commissioners in July suggested reversing that structure — charging higher rates for higher use of water. But that proposal ran into opposition from some water customers and the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, which warned the city could lose some water rights that ensure an adequate water supply for Lawrence through 2050.

More recently some commissioners suggested charging a flat rate for all customers. That had some support Tuesday, but commissioners hesitated.

Schauner suggested a modified form of the current rate structure, to reduce charges for low-volume users.

The current rate structure “essentially charges people for 2,000 gallons of water whether they use it or not,” Dunfield said.

No timeline was given for consultants to return with a new proposal.