ALCOSAN customers: Rate increase coming

PITTSBURGH — The Allegheny County Sanitary Authority announced Thursday that customers can expect a 17 percent rate increase for next year and more increases throughout the next several years.

The rate will increase 17 percent for 2014, and 11 percent for 2015, 2016 and 2017.  The rates are based on water used and will be effective Jan. 1 of each year.

According to a news release issued Thursday afternoon,  “The current rate of $4.32 will rise 73 cents per 1,000 gallons of water used to $5.05 for 2014.  The quarterly customer service charge will be $10.61. A homeowner using 15,000 gallons of water per quarter will see an increase of $4.19 per month, by ALCOSAN.  Consumers also should be aware that 80 of the 83 communities ALCOSAN serves place an additional charge on the ALCOSAN rates with proceeds earmarked for community-owned sewer line repair, replacement and maintenance.”

Officials said the rate increases are necessary to pay for $70 million in bonds used to pay for capital projects.

Those projects include interceptor tunnel cleaning, upgrading the main pump station at the plant to handle increased volume, installing grit chambers to collect sediment in the interceptor system, installing new flap gates at the end of the discharge pipes, upgrading the Squaw Run Pump Station, Energy Recovery Facility upgrades, and biosolids recycling planning.

"Throughout the year, we challenge each department to reduce costs," said ALCOSAN Executive Director Arletta Scott Williams.  "However, we have said time and again that rate increases to fund federally mandated projects contained in a consent decree to address sewer overflows would be needed.  This structure will assist everyone in future planning as opposed to waiting to change from year-to-year," she said.

Williams also stressed that the public has an opportunity to understand more about those projects and their impacts on future rates by attending upcoming public meetings on the sewer overflow issue.

ALCOSAN has already conducted 13 public meetings throughout the region this month. Three meetings remain - October 28 at the Shaler Municipal Building and October 29 at the DoubleTree in Monroeville.  Both meetings begin at 6:30 p.m.  The other meeting begins at 10 a.m. on October 29 at the Teamsters Temple in Lawrenceville.

For more information about the meetings, visit www.alcosan.org.

WPXI