Water and sewer rate increases coming

The Baltimore City Department of Public Works, at a public hearing yesterday, asked the Board of Estimates for increases in water and sewer rates and fees. The 9% increases for both water and sewer rates for Baltimore City customers were approved. These increases are required to meet State and Federal regulatory mandates, homeland security needs, and to address infrastructure replacement costs. These rate increases will raise the annual water and sewer bill for a family of four by approximately $81.

Bureau of Water and Wastewater Head, Kishia L. Powell, P.E., stated: “We have a looming CRISIS underfoot. The City’s water infrastructure, critical to basic sanitation, health, public safety and economic growth, is failing at an alarming rate. We not only have to choose HOW to spend our money, we have to choose TO spend money to replace our mains.” Ms. Powell cited numerous instances of major water main failures in 2009-2010: E. Madison St., Dundalk, W. Saratoga St., Halethorpe, Reisterstown, E. Lombard St., Argonne Dr., E. Monument St., etc. She also noted that for some periods during the past winter, there were 50 active water main breaks in a single day.

The reasons for the rate increase:

• Over 95% of the City’s water mains have been in service for 65 years without inspection; many are beyond 100 years of service.

• In FY2009 just 0.12% of the system’s water main was replaced; 0% in all of FY2010.

• In the past five years, DPW has responded to 5,762 water main breaks.

• Because of the aging system, the City looses enough water daily to fill the Baltimore’s World Trade Center; 20% of our finished water revenues.

• The continuing work mandated by a federal consent decree requiring $1 billion dollars in sewer system improvements.

• Homeland security improvements since 9/11 have increased costs for guard services, chemicals, water quality monitoring and facility security.

• Changes in Safe Drinking Water Act regulations requiring hundreds of millions of dollars in filtration and reservoir improvements.

• Improvements at wastewater treatment plants to meet federal mandates to reduce nutrients entering the Chesapeake Bay.

While seeking to address our infrastructure needs and unfunded mandates, Baltimore City has taken, and is taking, action to keep costs down:

• Made cuts to the operation to reduce overhead; since 2005 the Bureau of Water and Wastewater has reduced its workforce by 10%.

• Making operational and organizational changes to become a more efficient operation.

• Fielding additional crews to cut costs of overtime and water loss.

• Implementing water audit recommendations to achieve cost savings.

• Implementing cost-saving strategies such as the Back River Co-generation facility; investigating solar energy for reservoir projects.

• Continuing to seek out state and federal dollars to offset costs which would have otherwise been billed directly to rate-payers.

Baltimore City has an outstanding water system. In order to keep it that way we must continually invest in it. Delaying needed infrastructure improvements will only result in more damage and cost us much more in the long run. While these increases mean that we will all pay more for our water and sewer services, they are not out of line with what is happening elsewhere in the nation. Indeed, Baltimore City continues to have lower rates than most comparable east coast cities and we are striving to keep it that way.
 
For further information, contact Celeste Amato at 410-545-6541, Celeste.Amato@baltimorecity.gov or Robert Murrow at 410-545-6189, Robert.Murrow@baltimorecity.gov