WSA Proposes 15 Percent Sewer-Use Rate Hike

By Andrew Gorosko

The Water and Sewer Authority (WSA) is proposing an approximately 15 percent rate increase for sanitary sewer use in order to meet increasing operating costs at the sewage treatment plant, especially for electric and natural gas utilities.

The rate increase would affect users of both the central sewer system and the Hawleyville sewer system. Sewer users receive quarterly bills.  

The proposed rate hike is scheduled for a public hearing at 7:30 pm, September 20 at the sewage treatment plant offices on Commerce Road. The WSA is expected to act on the proposed rate hike after the hearing.

At its August 16 session, WSA member endorsed increasing the usage rate from $5.99 per thousand gallons to $6.89 per thousand gallons, representing a rate increase of 15.28 percent.

Also, WSA members endorsed increasing the sewage usage rate for Nunnawauk Meadows from $2 per thousand gallons to $2.30 per thousand gallons, reflecting a 15 percent rate hike. Nunnawauk Meadows is a 134-unit rent-subsidized housing complex on a 64-acre site on Nunnawauk Road for the low- and moderate-income elderly.

Town Public Works Director Fred Hurley said this week that rising energy costs, in the form of electric rates and natural gas rates, are the primary cause for the proposed sewer-use rate increase. The WSA uses electricity and natural gas to operate the sewage treatment plant on Commerce Road.

The volume of residential wastewater discharged by users in the two sewer systems varies, Mr Hurley said. Some users may discharge as little as 4,000 gallons of wastewater per billing period, while others may discharge 20,000 gallons or more, he said.

The WSA employs a flat-rate ten percent discount in its billing system to account for water that may be drawn from taps, but not discharged into drains, such as water that is used to fill swimming pools, to water lawns and gardens, and to wash automobiles. The gallonage figures used in the sewer billing system are based on water meter readings.

For rough example, under the current sewer rates, if a sewer user were to use 10,000 gallons of water per quarter, the automatic discount would drop the billing number to 9,000 gallons. That 9,000 gallons at $5.99 per thousand gallons would translate into a bill of $53.91. Under the proposed new sewer-use rates that gallonage would translate into a bill of $62.01.

The last time the WSA increased sewer user rate was in late 2005.

At that time, the sewer usage rate hike increased $5.70 to $5.99 per 1,000 gallons of wastewater.

When the central sewer system began operation in September 1997, the sewer usage rate was $4.40 per 1,000 gallons of water used.

Sewer bills vary, depending upon the number of people in a household, and how much water they use and then send down their drains. A larger family uses more water, discharges more wastewater into the sewer system, and thus has a higher quarterly sewer-use bill. A family of six might use twice as much water as a family of three.

The central sewer system serves the Borough, Taunton Lake North, Sandy Hook Center, Nunnawauk Meadows, Fairfield Hills, Garner Correctional Institution, and several public schools. The town built the $34 million central sewer system in the mid 1990’s to correct groundwater pollution problems caused by numerous failing septic systems.

The town operates a second, much smaller sewer system in Hawleyville, which sends wastewater to the Danbury sewage plant for treatment. That sewer system was built in 2000-01 to stimulate the economic development of Hawleyville. That system serves Liberty at Newtown, which is an age-restricted condominium complex, and The Homesteads at Newtown, an assisted living complex.