🚰 Happy Thursday! Water, water everywhere, and potentially a lot less money to spare.

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Greater Cincinnati Water Works wants to raise your water rate by 9.5% annually for the next five years, potentially adding nearly $19 a month to the average customer's bill by 2031.

Why it matters: The proposed increases would affect residential and commercial customers across the region as the utility faces hundreds of millions of dollars in federally mandated upgrades.

State of play: GCWW is seeking the increase every year from 2027 through 2031, spokesperson Kevin Osborne tells Axios.

• The average residential customer would pay an extra $3.78 per month in the first year.
• By the end of the five years, the average monthly bill would be $18.88 higher than it is today, reflecting compounded increases.

The catch: Cincinnati's City Council has to approve the rate hikes, even though two-thirds of the utility's revenue comes from outside the city.

• Leaders in those communities have no approval authority.

Behind the scenes: Osborne says two federal regulations are driving much of the need for additional revenue.

• Lead pipes: GCWW must replace roughly 30,000 remaining lead service lines by 2037, a project Osborne says is likely to cost at least $230 million over the next decade.
• Forever chemicals: The utility needs up to $120 million in new treatment technology to reduce PFAS levels at its Bolton Plant in Fairfield, which serves about 12% of customers.

Zoom in: Most of the utility's water already meets the new federal PFAS limits, Osborne says, but the Bolton Plant requires additional treatment.

• Meanwhile, inflation has driven up the cost of electricity, treatment chemicals and labor.

Threat level: If council says no, GCWW anticipates having to scale back maintenance and infrastructure improvements in other areas.

• That could mean more water main leaks and breaks, particularly during colder months, along with potential disruptions to homeowners and street construction projects, Osborne says.

What they're saying: "We are required to comply with regulations on lead pipes and PFAS chemicals, so those aren't negotiable," GCWW executive director Andrea Yang tells Axios. "That means we would have to reduce costs on repairs and maintenance if the rate increase isn't approved."

Northern Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie's push to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his handling of the Iran war and other alleged misconduct was blocked by House Republicans Tuesday.

Why it matters: Massie is nearing the end of his 14-year congressional career, but the Republican who's embraced his "Sassy Massie" moniker isn't done picking fights with his own party.

State of play: Massie's district includes Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties along the border with Ohio.

• His impeachment charges accused Hegseth of violating congressional war powers in Iran, misconduct involving civilian casualties and retaliation against a congressional critic.

The big picture: He's made a career of bucking Republican leadership, even when it puts him at odds with President Trump:

• Massie opposed Trump's COVID-19 relief package, prompting the president to call for his ouster from the GOP.
• He opposed Trump's "one big, beautiful bill" over national debt concerns.
• And Massie has teamed up with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to force the release of Jeffrey Epstein files, defying Trump and GOP leadership.

The intrigue: Trump backed Massie's primary challenger, Ed Gallrein, who defeated the incumbent in May.

The other side: Hegseth dismissed the impeachment effort as politically motivated at a Tuesday news conference.

• The conference clearly pleased Trump, who gave Hegseth "an 'A' PLUS, PLUS, PLUS" in a Truth Social post.

The bottom line: Tuesday's vote effectively kills any effort to impeach Hegseth this Congress.

⚾ Reds fans are remembering former manager Bob Boone, who died Monday at 78. He was also the father of former Reds Aaron and Bret Boone. (Yahoo Sports)

🏛️ Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) was elected House minority leader earlier this week. (Axios)

🏈 The Bengals reportedly scrapped a trade for Eagles pass rusher Arnold Ebiketie to avoid jeopardizing a projected third-round compensatory draft pick. (NBC Sports)

Two Cincinnati World War II pilots who grew up together and whose paths diverged during segregation are being reunited on a downtown wall.

Driving the news: 1001 Colors is installing a 3,000-square-foot mural honoring John Leahr, a Tuskegee Airman, and Herb Heilbrun, a B-17 bomber pilot, at 126 W. Sixth St.

• Installation began Friday, with completion expected Nov. 20.

Flashback: The men attended North Avondale Elementary School together, but lost touch. During WWII, Leahr flew with the Tuskegee Airmen, who escorted bombers like Heilbrun's.

• They unknowingly flew some of the same missions.
• The two reconnected at a 1997 Tuskegee Airmen reunion in Cincinnati, discovering they'd even appeared in the same third grade class photo.
• The pilots became close friends, traveling the country to promote racial understanding.

Behind the brush: Artist Conrad Egyir designed the mural, which is being painted by 1001 Colors' paid youth apprentices.

What's next: A public dedication is planned for spring 2027.

• The artwork is part of a larger initiative honoring Ohio's Tuskegee Airmen.

"We are going out and building the damn housing."

The mayor spent Tuesday night touting the city's efforts to make housing easier to build, including a program that will offer six preapproved designs for smaller multifamily buildings.

• Two model projects could break ground next year, Pureval says.

The big picture: His State of the City speech was largely a celebration of Cincinnati's progress on crime, downtown development and neighborhood investments, with few major new announcements.

🤩 Swilley can't wait to see that mural IRL.

🚰 Casey thinks a rate hike might finally stop people from telling him to drink more water.

Tyler Buchanan's edits give our stories extra drip.