Right on schedule, water rates for Pottstown water system customers are set to increase by about 4.5 percent in 2020.
The increase is part of a three-year rate increase schedule adopted last year that will, over its course, increase the average annual water bill by about $56 by the final rate increase in 2021.
For the average residential customer, the 2020 increase will add about $16 to the average water bill, according to calculations by Gerry Keszczyk, budget analyst in the borough's finance department.
Every water customer pays a base rate, but it varies depending on the size of your water line.
The base rate is the fee you pay for water service no matter how much water you use and is applied toward capital projects to improve the water treatment and distribution system.
An additional consumption rate is applied to the readings on water meters which measure how much water is used at a property and is called the usage rate.
Currently, most residential Pottstown customers of the system pay a base rate of $43 per quarter or $172 per year. In 2020, that same base rate will increase by 4.65 percent to $45 per quarter, or $180 per year -- an $8 annual increase.
The average residential customer in West, Lower and Upper Pottsgrove already pays a $45 per quarter base rate and would see that base rate increase to $47 per quarter under the budget endorsed Wednesday night by the borough authority board.
Over the course of the next three years, the base rate increase represents a 14.6 percent increase for the average Pottstown customer over the current rate and a 14 percent hike for water customers in the three Pottsgrove townships.
As for the usage rate, the current rate is $3.20 for every cubic foot of water, which equals about 748 gallons said Finance Director Janice Lee.
Keszczyk said the average residential customer uses 13 cubic feet of water per quarter, or 9,724 gallons.
In 2020, the usage rate will increase to $3.35 per cubic foot. That means the average residential usage rate will increase by 4.69 percent from $41.60 per quarter to $43.55 per quarter -- an increase of about $1.95, or 7.80 per year. Add that to the $8 cost of the base rate increase and you come out with an annual increase of about $16 per average household.
The rate hike is part of several budgets adopted unanimously Wednesday night by the borough authority board. Ultimately, said Lee, they are part of the entire borough budget adopted by borough council and do not become official until that happens.
Under the $45.3 million draft borough budget unveiled last week, property taxes would go up by 4.25 percent, in addition to the water rate increases. Sewer rates remain the same under the plan.
Authority board member Aram Ecker made note Wednesday of the savings expected once the new sewer sludge dryer is fully functioning, producing a product that can be sold as fertilizer rather than having to be landfilled at a high cost.
"Is there any chance sewer rates could be dropped as a result?" Ecker asked.
Lee and Authority Manager Justin Keller replied that the sewer system still has debts to pay off, and the better course of action is to keep them stable, using the additional revenue, once the debts are paid off, to maintain the aging system and replace large capital items.
"It was worth a shot," Ecker said ruefully.
The budgets recommended to council by the vote Tuesday include a water budget of $7,245,252; water capital budget of $537,000; a sewer budget of $9,420,534; a sewer capital budget of $515,000 and a sewer lines fund of $748,700.
Wednesday night Borough Solicitor Vincent Pompo outlined the terms of a consent decree with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
Driven by higher safety standards required by the EPA, the state has tested surface drinking water sources and the lower reaches of the Schuylkill River, where Pottstown gets its water, show a higher level of cryposporidium bacteria than EPA standards allow.
The strain of bacteria of concern is resistant to chlorine, which is how the Pottstown plant treats its water, so a new system that also used chlorine dioxide must be installed to meet the new standards.
As a result, the Pottstown Water Treatment Plan must implement the new treatment system by April 1, 2022. The cost has not yet been determined.
Pompo said all systems that draw water from the lower reaches of the Schuylkill, including Royersford and Philadelphia will have to comply with the new standard. Similar measures are also being taken in portions of the Susquehanna and several western Pennsylvania rivers he said.
The improvements come on top of other similar measures adopted in May, again at the behest of stricter federal government drinking water quality standards.
Those changes resulted in the water treatment plant having to add more chlorine to the water in order to prevent microbial contamination at a much smaller level than was previously required.
And with that, here are the Tweets from last night's meeting.
Year Two of Water Rate Hikes
Currently, most residential Pottstown customers of the system pay a base rate of $43 per quarter or $172 per year. In 2020, that same base rate will increase by 4.65 percent to $45 per quarter, or $180 per year -- an $8 annual increase.
The average residential customer in West, Lower and Upper Pottsgrove already pays a $45 per quarter base rate and would see that base rate increase to $47 per quarter under the budget endorsed Wednesday night by the borough authority board.
Over the course of the next three years, the base rate increase represents a 14.6 percent increase for the average Pottstown customer over the current rate and a 14 percent hike for water customers in the three Pottsgrove townships.
As for the usage rate, the current rate is $3.20 for every cubic foot of water, which equals about 748 gallons said Finance Director Janice Lee.
Keszczyk said the average residential customer uses 13 cubic feet of water per quarter, or 9,724 gallons.
In 2020, the usage rate will increase to $3.35 per cubic foot. That means the average residential usage rate will increase by 4.69 percent from $41.60 per quarter to $43.55 per quarter -- an increase of about $1.95, or 7.80 per year. Add that to the $8 cost of the base rate increase and you come out with an annual increase of about $16 per average household.
The rate hike is part of several budgets adopted unanimously Wednesday night by the borough authority board. Ultimately, said Lee, they are part of the entire borough budget adopted by borough council and do not become official until that happens.
Under the $45.3 million draft borough budget unveiled last week, property taxes would go up by 4.25 percent, in addition to the water rate increases. Sewer rates remain the same under the plan.
Authority board member Aram Ecker made note Wednesday of the savings expected once the new sewer sludge dryer is fully functioning, producing a product that can be sold as fertilizer rather than having to be landfilled at a high cost.
"Is there any chance sewer rates could be dropped as a result?" Ecker asked.
Lee and Authority Manager Justin Keller replied that the sewer system still has debts to pay off, and the better course of action is to keep them stable, using the additional revenue, once the debts are paid off, to maintain the aging system and replace large capital items.
"It was worth a shot," Ecker said ruefully.
The budgets recommended to council by the vote Tuesday include a water budget of $7,245,252; water capital budget of $537,000; a sewer budget of $9,420,534; a sewer capital budget of $515,000 and a sewer lines fund of $748,700.
Cleaner Water
As an example of one expense, as yet undetermined, the water capital fund will shoulder is a required change to how Pottstown's drinking water is treated. |
| The Pottstown Water Treatment Plant on Old Reading Pike in Stowe. |
Driven by higher safety standards required by the EPA, the state has tested surface drinking water sources and the lower reaches of the Schuylkill River, where Pottstown gets its water, show a higher level of cryposporidium bacteria than EPA standards allow.
The strain of bacteria of concern is resistant to chlorine, which is how the Pottstown plant treats its water, so a new system that also used chlorine dioxide must be installed to meet the new standards.
As a result, the Pottstown Water Treatment Plan must implement the new treatment system by April 1, 2022. The cost has not yet been determined.
Pompo said all systems that draw water from the lower reaches of the Schuylkill, including Royersford and Philadelphia will have to comply with the new standard. Similar measures are also being taken in portions of the Susquehanna and several western Pennsylvania rivers he said.
The improvements come on top of other similar measures adopted in May, again at the behest of stricter federal government drinking water quality standards.
Those changes resulted in the water treatment plant having to add more chlorine to the water in order to prevent microbial contamination at a much smaller level than was previously required.
And with that, here are the Tweets from last night's meeting.
Year Two of Water Rate Hikes
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