New water, sewer rates to be reflected on December city bills

It's as official as it was inevitable.

The City Council has adopted of a pair of ordinances providing for water and sewer rate increases for the City of Greencastle.

Not that the Council wanted to raise rates -- after all they must pay the increased costs, too -- as much as their hands were forced by edicts from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and unbalanced utility budgets.

Ordinances 2014-13 and 2014-14 were adopted reluctantly but unanimously on second and final reading Tuesday night by identical 4-0 votes (with the Fourth Ward Council seat still vacant, pending the Oct. 21 Republican caucus, see separate story) .

Mayor Sue Murray explained that city "utility users will see the increase reflected on the bill they receive in December that is due in January."

The ordinances adopted Tuesday night include three rate increases necessary to fund IDEM-ordered changes to the city's water system.

Those increases are:

-- A 47 percent water rate increase, effective Nov. 1.

-- An initial 11 percent sewage rate increase, effective Nov. 1.

-- A second sewage rate increase of 14.4 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2016.

The average Greencastle utility customer currently pays a total of $69.03 per month for his or her water, sewage and trash (the latter being a $10-per-month fee), according to the City Utility Office.

Factoring in the 47 percent water rate increase is expected to result in an additional $10.01 on that bill, while the initial sewage rate hike of 11.1 percent will likely add $3.99 per month for the average user.

Thus, the total increase for an average city utility customer is expected to be $14 (plus tax), making the new average billing (for water, sewer and trash) approximately $85 per month.

Meanwhile, the minimum city user, currently paying $6.78 for water, is expected to see that go to $9.97 (up $3.19) with the same 47 percent water rate hike.

The minimum user, currently paying $17.18 for sewage, will likely see that bumped to $19.07 coinciding with the initial 11 percent rate hike. It then will jump to $21.82 when the additional 14.4 percent -- or overall 27 percent increase over the current rate -- sewage rate increase kicks in on Jan. 1, 2016.

Tuesday's adoption of the rate hikes should allow the city to close on a State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan this November to finance the necessary utility improvements.

The city has not raised its utility rates since 2006, Mayor Murray has pointed out throughout the discussion process before the both the Board of Works and City Council.

This will be only the fourth time the city has raised its water and sewer rates since 1979.

In making a recommendation to the Council for the rate increases, Board of Works member Trudy Selvia recently stressed that city officials were "being very conservative with this."

"There is no alternative," she said. "We have an aging plant we need to take care of."

And, of course, the agreed order allows the City of Greencastle only 18 months -- as of last Oct. 7 -- to comply with IDEM orders requiring modification of the city's water treatment plant.

A recent assessment of the Greencastle water system showed higher than normal groundwater temperatures reportedly due to the influence of surface water. While normal groundwater temperature is about 55 degrees (plus or minus two or three degrees), the report documents a water temperature differential of about 14 degrees.

Also contributing to the issue is the fact Greencastle's population has now surpassed the 10,000 mark, putting the water utility under new, stricter guidelines which mandate the need for a WT-5 level of operation with a licensed operator present during all hours of water production.

Complying with required modifications to the water treatment plant and wellfield, Lori Young of Curry & Associates Consulting Engineers and Architects said, necessitates a project with a total cost of $2,675,500, which is the reason for the increase in water rates and the need for the SRF loan (expected at 2.1 percent).

Construction is tentatively set to begin in December with substantial construction completion due next May and project completion in July 2015.

Cost elements of the city water project include:

-- Clear well tank and transfer pumps, $1,312,000.

-- Pre-chlorination system, $187,000.

-- SCADA control system, $150,000.

-- Well rehabilitation, $125,000.

-- Filter media replacement, $105,000.

-- Turbidity monitoring, $42,000.

-- Backwash recycling system, $37,000.

-- Coagulant feed system, $21,500.

-- Total probable construction cost, $1,979,500.

-- Contingency recommendation, $305,000.

-- Non-construction costs (land acquisition, engineering fees, other professional services), $391,000.