Sewer rates

Some of you may have read my past blog posts, and the council minutes, that discussed my commentary of a $50 per month sewer rate increase. I missed the last council meeting, so I was unable to clarify there. So I will use this forum to do so.

Are our rates going to go up $50 a month in the next year? No. The plan we have come up with to meet our sewer requirements, will put off any new sewer treatment upgrades for a year or two or three. I, and our city council, want to do the right thing, and meet our legal requirements for treating our sewage. Our current plan should do just that.

However, with changing environmental laws, it is likely that a few years out, our sewer plant will not meet the requirements, and we will need to change what is done.

In preparation of that day, the city council will be considering an increase in our current sewer rates to start saving up for our future needs. Currently we have one of the lowest sewer rates around. Will the council raise your sewer rates $50 a month this year? No, I don't see that happening.

However, and this is my opinion only, and not of any council member individually, or the council as a whole...as I see the numbers, as presented by our engineering firm, if we had to upgrade our sewer system this year, and if the prices they quoted were correct, it would take an average bill increase of $50 a month to pay for what we likely would have to do.

Potentially we could have to spend $4 Million on a sewer upgrade. We have around 500 sewer customers. Do the math.
Now we might get grants to knock that price down. And it might not cost $4 Million. But I got handed a report from our engineering firm for various options for future sewage treatment plans, and they all have a heck of lot of zeros at the end, and the zeros were to the left of the decimal point.

I've said it in previous posts. Who you elect at the state and federal levels matter. If people get elected who are friends with people who want really tight water quality standards, we have to treat our sewage to the point that mussels and minnows can live happily forever in Bear Creek. And if that is what people want, that is fine, but there is a price for that.

And I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Please do not run your sump pump down the drain. We have to treat that, and that adds to the cost of any future sewage treatment plan.