Board Approves Rate Changes/Endorses Schedule

Water Authority Board Approves Rate Changes and Endorses Six-Year Rate Schedule

September 30, 2004

ROANOKE, VA-At its September 16 meeting, the Western Virginia Water Authority Board approved advertisement of new water and sewer rates for 2005. Board members also endorsed a six-year water/sewer rate schedule. The schedule for water rates is based on the study conducted by the consulting engineering firm Black & Veatch Corporation. This study was conducted in 2003 for the City of Roanoke and Roanoke County in preparation for the Water Authority’s formation. The schedule for sewer rates is based in part on the Black & Veatch study and also driven by regulatory requirements mandated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. The rate schedule calls for equal water/sewer rates for all Water Authority customers by 2010.

Water and sewer rates are calculated from a combination of base and volume charges. The proposed schedule equalizes water and sewer rates through incremental changes to these charges over six years. A public hearing on the proposed 2005 rate changes will be held Thursday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Roanoke County Administrative Center, 5204 Bernard Drive, 1st Floor Board Room.

In 2005, for the majority of customers in the City of Roanoke (with 5/8-inch water meters), the base water rate would increase from $3.25 to $3.50 (or 25 cents) a month and the volume rate would increase from $2.17 to $2.30 (or 13 cents) per 1,000 gallons for usage up to 10,000 gallons. An average monthly water bill, based on 5,000 gallons of usage, would increase from $14.10 to $15.00 (or 90 cents) a month. In comparison, the average monthly water bill in the Commonwealth is $18.25, based on an annual survey performed on behalf of the Virginia Municipal League and the Virginia Association of Counties.

In 2005, for the majority of customers in Roanoke County (with 5/8-inch water meters and using less than 10,000 gallons of water per month), the base water rate would decrease from $12.03 to $6.25 (or $5.78) a month and the volume rate would increase from $2.05 to $2.90 (85 cents) per 1,000 gallons. An average monthly water bill, based on 5,000 gallons of usage, would decrease from $22.28 to $20.75 (or $1.53).

In 2010, an average monthly water bill for all Water Authority customers, based on 5,000 gallons of usage and a 5/8-inch water meter, is projected to be $18, according to the proposed six-year schedule.

In 2005, sewer rates would increase for all sewer customers. For customers in the city, sewer rate increases would derive from the addition of a base charge that varies by meter size. For the majority of customers in the city, this increase would be $1.65 per month; the volume rate for all customers in the city would remain the same at $2.59 per 1,000 gallons. An average monthly sewer bill, based on 5,000 gallons of discharge, would increase from $12.93 to $14.60 (or $1.67).

In 2005, for all customers in the county, sewer volume rates would increase from $1.52 to $1.80 (or 28 cents) per 1,000 gallons; sewer base rates would remain the same. An average monthly sewer bill, based on 5,000 gallons of discharge, would increase from $16.60 to $18.00 (or $1.40). In comparison, the average monthly sewer bill in the Commonwealth is $20.91, based on an annual survey performed on behalf of the Virginia Municipal League and the Virginia Association of Counties.

In 2010, an average monthly sewer bill for all Water Authority customers, based on 5,000 gallons of discharge, is projected to be $27, according to the proposed six-year schedule.

Sewer rate increases are necessary to pay for renovations currently underway at the Water Pollution Control Plant and to renovate the 960-mile sewer collection infrastructure in the Water Authority service area. Renovations will allow the plant to treat a much higher volume of wastewater and will reduce the potential for sewage overflows at the plant and throughout the wastewater collection system.

The Western Virginia Water Authority—and the City of Roanoke and Roanoke County prior to the formation of the Authority on July 1, 2004—has been in ongoing negotiations with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for wastewater collection system improvements. This year, the Water Authority is establishing a formal remediation program with DEQ for its wastewater system, called a Special Order of Consent (SOC). The SOC mandates a step-by-step plan that the Water Authority will follow to identify and reduce sources of inflow and infiltration of stormwater and groundwater throughout the sewer collection system. This work will be done in addition to the renovations underway at the Water Pollution Control Plant.

Tables of proposed water and sewer rate changes for all meter sizes for Authority customers, as well as proposed fire service rate changes, are available at the Water Authority’s Web site: www.westernvawater.org. Tables showing proposed annual rate changes through 2010 also are available on the Web site. Customers with questions about rate changes may also call the Water Authority at 853-5700.