Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 4, 1993 TAG: 9310040019
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
In Roanoke, a homeowner pays $6.47 a month for treating 5,000 gallons of sewage, an average amount for a residential customer.
In Roanoke County, a customer pays $9.49 to treat the same amount of sewage.
The bill is even larger in Botetourt County, where a customer pays $18.50 a month for 5,000 gallons.
So why do the rates vary so much?
Officials say there are several factors. The outstanding debt on sewer lines, the need to build new lines and the size of the customer base are among the reasons.
The higher the debt on sewer lines, the higher the rates needed to repay the money.
And if a locality needs to build new lines to serve developing areas, that also can drive up rates.
Attention has been focused on sewer bills The difference comes in the cost and maintenance of sewer lines and the administration . . . Kit Kiser recently, because Roanoke must increase its rates by 50 percent over the next three years to pay for expanding the treatment plant and replacing several overloaded sewer lines.
Even after the increase, Roanoke's sewer rates will be in the same range as those of most other Roanoke Valley localities.
And Roanoke's combined bill for sewer and water service will remain lower than that of any other locality.
All five valley localities pay basically the same rate for treating sewage.
Roanoke owns the treatment plant and treats sewage from the other localities on a contractual basis.
Under the formula for determining the cost for each locality, a treatment fee is calculated each year based on the plant's operation costs.
The total operation costs are divided by the volume of sewage treated, and a charge for each million gallons is calculated. The charge then is applied to each locality's sewage volume.
The localities' current charges for treating 1 million gallons of sewage are: Botetourt County, $371.88; Vinton, $371.88; Salem, $373.76; and Roanoke County, $375.61.
The charges vary slightly because the terms of the localities' contracts with Roanoke provide credits or small additional charges related to capital costs when the plant was expanded two decades ago.
"Everybody pays basically the same charge. It's not enough difference to have any appreciable effect," said Kit Kiser, Roanoke's director of utilities and operations.
"The difference comes in the cost and maintenance of sewer lines and the administration of the billing and other operations," Kiser said.
The charges paid by the localities to Roanoke for treatment are recalculated regularly as the plant's operation costs change.
Roanoke's sewer rates are low, partly because the city doesn't have any debt on lines and is not building new lines.
"We have an old system that leaks sometimes, but it's paid for," Kiser said.
By contrast, suburban Botetourt and Roanoke counties still are developing and building sewer lines.
Clifford Craig, Roanoke County's utility director, said the county still is building lines, such as a $3 million interceptor to serve the area west of Salem.
"We are still expanding, and we have to build new lines to serve growing areas," Craig said. The county sells bonds to help finance new lines.
Unlike Roanoke, where houses are close together, the county is less densely populated. As a result, the county has to build lines in some areas where houses and subdivisions are far apart. Craig said this necessitates higher rates to help pay for the lines. "Sometimes, we might have to go 300 to 400 feet between [sewer] connections," Craig said.
Craig said Roanoke County operates its sewer system on an enterprise fund, so only sewer customers - not all taxpayers - pay for treatment and new lines.
Roanoke has little vacant land and doesn't face the cost for extending lines. But the city will have to issue bonds to help pay its share of the $41.5 million cost for expanding the treatment plant and replacing several major lines.
Roanoke has a much larger base of customers - approximately 40,000 - than the other localities. The costs are spread among more customers, and the impact on each is less.
By comparison, Botetourt has 1,300 customers. Roanoke County has 20,000.
Because of the scarcity of customers, Botetourt's rates are the highest in the Roanoke Valley.
"We still have some debts on our lines and we don't have the customer base as the other localities," said Kurt Hodgen, Botetourt's director of public works.
Kiser predicts the other localities will have to raise their rates to help pay for the plant expansion and new lines.
Craig said it will be difficult for Roanoke County to avoid a rate increase. In addition to its $12.3 million share of the plant expansion, the county needs to spend an additional $3 million on line extensions and repairs, he said.
Even after the sewer rate increase, Roanoke's combined bill for 5,000 gallons of sewer and water will be lower than the state average.
The cost for expanding the plant is based on several factors, including the projected sewage flow from each locality. The cost will be split this way:
Roanoke, $15.77 million, 38 percent.
Roanoke County, $12.35 million, 29.8 percent.
Salem, $10.46 million, 25.2 percent.
Botetourt County, $1.93 million, 4.6 percent.
Vinton, $990,000, 2.4 percent.
The sewage treatment plant has a capacity of 35 million gallons a day. It will be expanded to 42 million gallons.
Roanoke will use nearly half of that capacity - 19.2 million gallons. The allocation for the other localities will be: Roanoke County, 10.3 million; Salem, 7.8 million; Botetourt County, 2.6 million; and Vinton, 2.1 million.
by CNB