ROANOKE TIMES  
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, December 4, 1996            TAG: 9612040030
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY  
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
      Published correction ran on December 7, 1996.
         Clarification
         The rates labeled "Pulaski," in a graph Wednesday comparing water and
      sewer rates for some of the larger systems in the New River Valley 
      referred to Pulaski County and not the town of Pulaski. The county rates
      per 5,000 gallons are $21 for water and $22.50 for sewer; the town rates
      are $11.34 for water and $22.96 for sewer.

MONTGOMERY LEADS AS UTILITY COSTS RISE

A new survey says water and sewer rates are continuing an upward trend in the New River Valley and across Virginia.

The cost of water service increased by an average of 48 cents among statewide public and private systems, according to Draper Aden Associates, a Blacksburg engineering firm.

Half of the 188 Virginia utilities that responded to the firm's survey had rate increases during the last two years. Statewide water rates are up by 30 percent since 1990.

Each of the New River Valley's political jurisdictions that provide water and sewer service has either increased their rates recently or has plans to do so.

Water is getting more expensive to provide and treat because of changes in regulations, the demands of economic growth and aging equipment, the report says.

Locally the costs of water and sewer service vary widely. According to the Draper Aden survey, Montgomery County Public Service Authority customers pay the most for monthly water and sewer service, $45.75.

Christiansburg customers living inside town limits pay the least at $24.93 monthly.

Draper Aden based its cost estimates on 5,000 gallons of monthly water use.

It is common for county systems with more rural, dispersed customers to charge more for utility service, according to Bill Aden of the engineering firm.

Town customers are usually clustered closer together. Longer water lines needed to serve spread-out developments are more expensive to build and maintain, he said.

Also, newer, rural water systems built as a response to growth may be more expensive because they have been financed by borrowing. Debt service on those loans often shows up in higher rates, said Gary Gibson, director of the Montgomery PSA.

Rural water lines can be built either as a spur or a response to growth. In Pulaski County, development along Virginia 100 near Dublin has sparked discussion of building new utility lines.

Montgomery County recently finished one project - expanding wastewater treatment service to the Merrimac area - and started another - extending a water line from the Allegheny Springs community to Shawsville.

Most ambitious among local projects is the newly formed Giles County Public Service Authority. It plans to begin work soon on an 18-mile water line along U.S. 460 connecting the towns of Glen Lyn and Pembroke.

The new, $7.1 million line and its support facilities will be paid by a federal grant. It will help to connect and upgrade water systems operated independently by Giles County's five towns.

Tim Brown, director of the Giles County PSA, says the project is critical to promoting growth and public health. But the size and scope of the project has raised local concerns about how much it will ultimately cost.

"The utilities burden has hit us all at once," Brown said.

Even localities that aren't radically expanding their utility systems have been forced to raise rates by environmental regulations.

"They get stricter and stricter each year," said Lance Terpenny, Christiansburg town manager.

Christiansburg recently imposed a rate increase to pay for an upgrade of its wastewater treatment facilities. Likewise, Radford is in the process of upgrading its water and sewer system, a $3.5 million project financed by loans and rate increases.

Sections of Radford's system were 50 years old, City Manager Robert Asbury said. Old pipes and plants are also a statewide concern, Aden said. "In so many places, they're trying to patch again systems."

The Draper Aden Associates report projects Virginia localities will be spending an average of $12.9 million on improvements for water systems and $13.4 million on improvements for sewer systems over the next five years.

The report, the firm's eighth annual water and sewer rate survey, was prepared with the Virginia Municipal League and the Virginia Association of Counties.

LENGTH: Medium:   86 lines
ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC:  Charts by staff. 1. Water rates. 2. Sewer rates.