County's rates could rise for big water users

The monthly water and sewer bill for a typical Albemarle County household would increase only 72 cents next fiscal year under a new Albemarle County Service Authority proposal.

But those who tend to let the water flow more freely could get soaked with a significantly higher rate targeting residents that use more than 9,000 gallons per month.

The rate structure is designed to encourage residents to conserve water, said John Martin, a member of the ACSA Board of Directors, and to put fewer burdens on conservative water users.

“They can do whatever they want, but every month they get their water bill, there’s a reminder that if you’re not careful about your discretionary use of water, you can wind up in another level and be paying a lot more,” Martin said.

Conservative water customers — about 40 percent of single-family households use less than 3,000 gallons of water per month — would actually pay less next fiscal year than under the existing rate structure.

Households that use more than 9,000 gallons of water per month would be charged $13.28 per 1,000 gallons of water above the 9,000-gallon mark, up from the current rate of $10.90 for that same water level. About 6 percent of county customers use more than 9,000 gallons.

The newest rate proposals were advertised Monday and mirror proposals from Annapolis-based Municipal & Financial Services Group, which was hired by ACSA to study county water and sewer rates.

“We thought it would be good news, for a change, that the rates aren’t going through the roof,” said ACSA Board of Directors Chairman Donald J. Wagner. “This was not a good year to raise rates to get the money [to] put in the bank for the future.”

In addition to responding to the burden of rising wholesale water rates, the ACSA plans to gradually increase its rates 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.

However, Wagner said that water officials aren’t planning to set aside much additional money this year and could dip slightly into reserves. Some infrastructure projects are being delayed, and more financial burden is being shifted to heavy water users, to lower costs for conservative customers.

Under the proposal, a typical single-family residence — one that uses 4,100 gallons of water and an equal amount of wastewater — an average monthly bill would be $52.98 beginning in July, 1.4 percent more than the current $52.26 cost, according to ACSA statistics.

The ACSA had previously proposed a rate structure that would increase a typical bill by 9.1 percent, to $57.

For years, the service authority has charged customers more money per-gallon for using more than 3,000 gallons of water per month.

Martin said that he considers the least expensive water for customers — the first 3,000 gallons — to be necessary for household use. The next range of costs, between 3,001 and 6,000 gallons, is for “medium-level service,” Martin said, while those who use more than 6,000 gallons are high users.

Gary Fern, ACSA executive director, said that those who use more than 9,000 gallons of water per month often use a lot of water outside, such as to fill pools or water grass frequently.

The service authority proposes increasing the cost of wastewater to $7.21 per 1,000 gallons, up from the current $7 rate.

The authority is holding a public hearing on the proposed rate changes at 9 a.m. on June 18 at the Albemarle County Service Authority Administration Building at 168 Spotnap Road.