Sewer system to raise fees

By Charles Sowell  

MARCH 5, 2010 9:12 a.m. (0)

Metropolitan Sewer Subdistrict’s 54,000 customers will likely see a $52 fee tacked onto their annual bill this year to cover the cost of operation and maintenance as well as rehabilitation of existing lines, said Mike Dickson, general manager.

The fee will be prorated based on property value, Dickson said. The $52 figure is based on a $100,000 house. Metro’s board is expected to vote the fee into effect this month.

The fee is another unintended consequence of the state Legislature’s Act 388 cap on local taxes, Dickson said. The district started a contingency fund to cover most of the costs associated with system maintenance and controlling inflow and infiltration in the mid 1990s.

Increases in costs, plus more stringent federal water quality requirements have sent costs soaring, he said. Since the late 1990s the subdistrict has burned through about $5 million in surplus funds.

“Because our milage was set so low, after the last reassessment, we could only increase our income by three-tenths of a mil,” Dickson said, “From 5.4 mils to 5.7 which wouldn’t get us close to our estimated funding needs to maintain and rehab our system.”

Metro’s estimates show they will take in $2.1 million in tax revenue in the coming year. It will cost them $4.3 million to maintain and rehab their 601 miles of sewer lines.

All sewer system operators in Greenville County spend a considerable amount of their budget on rehabilitation of lines to meet the requirements of an Environmental Protection Agency consent order signed in the 1990s, Dickson said.

Overall Metro has a well-maintained system of residential lines, Dickson said.

“Some parts of our lines are 80 to 100 years old,” he said. “We regularly put cameras into the lines and check on conditions and try to do our rehabilitation work on a rotating basis.”

As parts of lines degenerate, they are rehabbed. Metro has spent $12.5 million in this fashion over the past 10 years, he said.

Nine of the area’s sewer collection systems have instituted fees over the past 18 months, Dickson said.

Many of these organizations, like Metro, are being squeezed by rising costs and limited tax fund raising powers through Act 388.

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