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Sewage, water rates to rise in Baltimore County
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BALTIMORE (Map, News) - About 225,000 Baltimore County residents will pay more to turn on the water tap and flush the toilet this summer when a 7.5 percent rate increase goes into effect July 1, officials said.
The increase affects all of the county’s public water and sewer customers, including about 10,000 commercial users, officials said. The increase — nearly double the rise Baltimore City residents will see — will help fund federally mandated upgrades to the county’s aging and chronically overflowing sewage system, County Executive Jim Smith said.
“We’re talking about a $900 million investment over 15 years, and that’s a major ingredient in this 7.5 percent increase,” Smith said. “The tremendous capital expense going into revamping most of our pumping stations is a major factor.”
For a family of four, the county’s sewage service charge will increase about $37 per year, county water distribution fees will rise almost $6 and the city’s water supply charge will increase nearly $14, said Steve Hinkel, chief of administrative services for the county’s Public Works Department. Combined, the average county household will pay an extra $57 annually.
County residents saw a 15 percent rate increase last year but none the year prior, Hinkel said. In comparison, city customers saw a 9 percent increase for each of the past two years.
The increase also will cover increasing costs for labor, materials, fuel and electricity to operate the systems, Hinkel said.
“Water costs like many things in this economy — more,” he said.
Many area jurisdictions are finding themselves with expensive sewage repairs, said Anirban Basu, president of the Sage Policy Group Inc., a Baltimore-based economic and policy consulting firm, and chairman of Baltimore County’s economic advisory committee. The extra work came at a bad time, when suitable labor and construction materials also cost more, he said.
“Much of this work has been neglected and has to be done all at once,” Basu said. “When you catch up, it costs money.”
jmalarkey@baltimoreexaminer.com
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9:54 AM MST on Tue., Jun. 24, 2008 re: "Sewage, water rates to rise in Baltimore County"
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Johnny Apple seed said:
State law superseids County. Enforce the State No building moratoriums within 200 feet of sewage and all wataerways, without permit and I will gladly pay more for water, period. OCD
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NTD said:
“Much of this work has been neglected and has to be done all at once,” Well then maybe we should take all of the cost for their neglect out of the paychecks of those who failed to do their job in the first place. So essentially they got paid for not doing their job, but now the taxpayers have to pay more for someting that should have been done already? Start with Jim Smith and the director of Public Works
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Examiner Reader said:
And this is why things should not be just passed off with the "we'll get to it later" mentality. Now we'll pay more for water and electricity due to short sightedness of those that are in charge. Don't wait til it breaks to fix it, take some initiative and do preventative work.
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joep said:
Here we go agaim!
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Examiner Reader said:
Goverment people don't know how to fix a pipe.They can't do anything right! They are mean !
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joek said:
I live in Federal Hill and have been seeing broken mains and pipes spouting water like Old Faithful daily for the last two months. Check out the constant flow of hundreds of gallons per minute at William and West streets! Is this rate hike to pay for their incompetence at not knowing how to fix a pipe in the first place?
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Examiner Reader said:
I'm tired of the only discounts and assistance programs going to those who earn less than $25,000. It is those of us that earn between$25,000 and $80,000 that are hit hardest and struggling with oppressive debt. A person earning less than $25,000 is less likely to have a mortgage, a high BGE bill with no opportunity for asistance, or a car payment coupled with the exorbitant gas prices that must be used every day to go back and forth to work, etc. Not to mention the city's ridiculessly high property taxes and vehicle insurance.
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Examiner Reader said:
It never ends ! Every day they find new ways to steal our hard earned dollars.What a shameful bunch of greedy power hungry People ! They are mean !
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