Friday, November 23, 2001
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Friday, November 23, 2001 |
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Sewer fee hike expected in January to fund expansion of PTC system By JOHN
MUNFORD
Local residents can expect an increase on their sewer bills in the near future to help pay for a $15 million project to expand the capacity of Peachtree City's sewer system. Currently, the increase on the average residential customer is predicted to be around $4 to $4.50, said Larry Turner, general manager of the Peachtree City Water and Sewer Authority. The authority will also consider restructuring the fees charged to industrial and commercial customers "to make sure they are paying for the share of services they receive," Turner said. The fee increases, expected to take affect sometime in January, will bring the fees in line with fees charged throughout metro Atlanta, Turner said. Currently, the average monthly residential sewer bill is approximately $24.50, based on the $3.50 charge per 1,000 gallons. Some metro area sewer systems have average bills upwards of $45 monthly, Turner pointed out. The last time sewer rates were increased was in 1992, before the city took over the sewer system, Turner said. The $15 million project will be financed over 20 years, and the funds from the increased fees will be used to pay down that debt. The Peachtree City Council has agreed to back the loan, which allows the authority to get a lower interest rate by about one-half percent, Turner noted. Once completed, the expansion will increase the city's ability to treat sewage from 4.9 million gallons a day to six million gallons a day. Part of the expansion will double the capacity of the Rockaway wastewater treatment plant from two to four million gallons a day. It will also add another filtration system to the process there, which will result in better water quality at discharge, Turner said. Those same filters will also be installed at the Line Creek waste water treatment plant as part of the urban reuse program, which will put the water through the special filters so it can be used to irrigate local golf courses. Included in that program will be storage tanks so the specially-treated water can be stored on days when it is not needed due to rainfall. The expansion project includes the decommissioning of the Flat Creek waste water treatment facility, which has been operating for 35 years but was originally designed to serve on a temporary basis, Turner noted. Because of its age, Flat Creek costs more to operate than the other two plants. The authority plans to continue discharging the allowed .9 million gallons per day into Flat Creek, however. In addition to maintaining that discharge capacity, that move will also help maintain wetlands in the area, one reason why the Southern Conservation Trust asked WASA to maintain the discharge there. The discharge for Flat Creek will be pumped in from the Line Creek facility, Turner said. Also included in the expansion is the construction of a new administration/maintenance facility at the Rockaway plant. Currently, WASA's administration and maintenance complex is located at the to-be-closed Flat Creek plant.
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