Water rates encourage conservation

Conservative Albemarle County water users could pay less under new water rates passed Thursday, though heavy water users could face much heftier bills.

The new rate structure is designed to promote water conservation by hitting heavy users’ wallets, while avoiding massive increases for others.

Under the new water and sewer rates, which go into effect July 1, a typical Albemarle household would pay about 72 cents more per month next fiscal year than currently.

“Most people’s water bills are actually going to stay the same as last year,” said Liz Palmer, a member of the Albemarle County Service Authority Board of Directors, adding that bills for many conservative users could decrease.

Palmer said that for the first 3,000 gallons that customers use each month, the authority is charging only enough to cover the wholesale rate — the amount the Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority charges the ACSA. The first 3,000 gallons of water will cost county users $3.32 per 1,000 gallons — a decrease from the current $3.86 rate.

In addition to responding to the burden of rising wholesale rates, the Albemarle authority plans to increase its rates gradually in coming years, to help offset costs to replace and repair aging infrastructure, while also setting aside money for the area’s long-term water supply plan.

Single-family households using 4,100 gallons of water and the same amount of wastewater paid $32.93 per month in fiscal 2005; that same amount will cost county users $52.98 beginning in July, according to ACSA statistics.

Wastewater will cost single-family homeowners $7.21 per 1,000 gallons beginning in July, up from the current $7 rate.

The monthly service charge for 5/8-inch water meters — the size used by the vast majority of county customers — will increase to $6.15. Those who have larger meters will face much higher service charges. Users who have 1-inch meters, for example, will pay $10.50, up from the current $5.27 charge, and the few heavy water users with 4-inch meters will pay $75.75, up from $5.27.

ACSA officials say the fees for larger meters were increased drastically because the larger meters are much more expensive for the authority to operate.

Fred Weinberg, a county water-user, questioned at the authority’s public hearing Thursday why water is much more expensive in Albemarle than in localities such as Fairfax County. Palmer attributed the cost difference largely to population differences — population is much more dense in Fairfax.

“Higher density housing is going to do that. I can buy that,” Weinberg said in a phone interview Thursday.

He added, however, that he doesn’t understand why his bill is more than twice as high in Albemarle compared with when he lived in Fairfax.

Weinberg told the authority’s Board of Directors that he’d like to see an analysis comparing Albemarle with other localities to determine why Albemarle’s rates are higher than some other jurisdictions.

Palmer said the board would examine the matter.