The local utility that supplies Montgomery County with water, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, is proposing two changes to its rate system that could increase costs for local residents.
The two proposed changes:
- Raising the Account Maintenance Fee – This fee covers the cost of purchasing meters, installing and maintaining them. The existing charge of $11 hasn’t changed since it was first put into place in 1990, but only covers about 70 percent of the cost of maintaining existing customer accounts, according to WSSC.
- Proposing a fixed, infrastructure reconstruction fee – This fee would be based on the meter size of each customer, according to the WSSC, and be used to pay for maintenance of water and sewer pipes.
The press release states, “With these fees in place, WSSC would have a more predictable and reliable revenue base, with the intended result of lowering the size of rate increases going forward.”
According to The Washington Post, the fees will add an estimated $16 to the average houshold quarterly bill of $162, with the biggest impact being on homes that use the least amount of water, "such as people living alone." The Post report noted rates have also been going up, with increases of 95 percent since 2002 and annual increases as high as 9 percent in recent years.
WSSC said in the release it needs additional funds to maintain its network of pipes because residents have been using less water, therefore paying less on water bills.
"We're not saying we aren't going to raise rates," said Jim Neustadt, WSSC spokesman. "We're removing some of the set costs to places they should be, so rate increases will be smaller."
Neustadt said that fixed costs such as account maintenace and infrastructure improvements have been rising as customers' have been saving water and therefore reducing their bills.
“The good news is that customers are clearly listening to calls for water conservation,” said Jerry N. Johnson, WSSC’s CEO, in a statement. “The quandary for WSSC, and water utilities across the country, is that 95% of our revenues come directly from ratepayers. The decreased demand for water means WSSC has less money for maintenance and upgrades of its aging system.”
Without proper maintenance, water mains can fail causing roads and streets to flood. A recent example happened Thursday in Prince George’s County when a 12-inch main broke on Rhode Island Avenue in Hyattsville, causing an estimated 6 million gallons of water to flood the roadway. A more local example happened just before Christmas in 2008, when a 66-inch water main broke on River Road, washing multiple vehicles toward I-495 and requiring local swift water rescue teams to make dramatic rescues.
A public meeting on the fee changes will be held Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the 7th floor council hearing room at 100 Maryland Avenue in Rockville.