Newtown Sewer Authority Rates to Increase 43%!

If you are a resident of Newtown Township or Newtown Borough, you probably received this NOTICE attached to email from the Newtown Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority, aka Newtown Sewer Authority, which begins with “The Newtown, Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority (Authority) is actively pursuing construction of our own wastewater treatment facility.”

[The REAL shocker, however, is the RATE INCREASE – see below.]

The Authority recently acquired a 17.5-acre parcel between the Newtown Bypass and Lower Silver Lake Road as a future site for a brand-new wastewater (aka sewage) treatment plant. For more on that, read “#NewtownPA Sewer Authority Purchases Land for Sewage Treatment Plant”.

The Authority claims that the plant, once constructed, would be “virtually invisible from the bypass.” And the smell? Warren Gormley, the Authority Director, told Borough Council members back in September, 2023, the plant “has an air diffuser …that takes care of the odor…there's not really that much odor.” View his presentation on Youtube...

What About Rates?

Back in August, 2022, Mr. Gormley informed Newtown Supervisors that a proposed sale of the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority  (BCWSA) to a private company would not be “a good thing for the rate payers...it will increase rates dramatically." View the video of his remarks… He urged us to oppose the deal, which ultimately failed.

Not long after that deal fell through the Authority raised rates by 21% from $68 per quarter to $82 per quarter in response to a 16.6% BCWSA rate increase charged to the Authority (read “Your Sewer Rates Are Going Up; Director Of #NewtownPA Sewer Authority Explains Why”).

Now, in its email, the Authority informed customers “rates will increase in January from $82 to $120.54 per quarter ($482 per year) for the 10,000 gallon minimum.” Thus, our rates will increase by 43% (or 77% from the $68 per quarter rate in effect 2 years ago)! The Authority says this “equates to a less than 43 cents per day increase.” It’s like the frog in the slowly heated water pot – just a few degrees per day!

NOTE: This is on top of Newtown Artesian Water Company’s proposed 14% increase! For more on that read “#NewtownPA Artesian Water Company’s Proposed 14% Rate Increase My Be ‘Unlawful, Unjust, and Unreasonable!’”.

“I think it's 'criminal' for the Newtown Sewer Authority to do this without notifying us in advance so we could have organized to defeat this 46% increase.  The BCWSA was a much better plan” – email from resident Bill D. [WHAT DO YOU THINK? TAKE MY SURVEY!]

Here’s how the Authority justifies its rate increases and reason for building its own sewage treatment plant...

“In 2023, BCWSA instituted the first of three planned rate increases for its wholesale customers, which amounted to a 16.6 percent rate hike, an increase, that we, unfortunately, had to pass on to our customers along with a nominal 3.4 percent increase to cover the normal growth in Authority operating costs in an inflationary environment. It is not known how much BCWSA will charge for subsequent rate increases as these decisions are often made with little, if any, input from our Authority or board.

“While we are grateful that the BCWSA sale did not move forward, in its absence BCWSA is left with a laundry list of expensive upgrades and maintenance that were long overdue. As a wholesale customer of BCWSA, our Authority must contribute shared costs of multi-million-dollar infrastructure upgrades and maintenance to the Neshaminy Interceptor system.

Our Authority board realized that unless we took steps to become independent of the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority, we would always be subject to their decisions and rate hikes, causing our residents to be perpetual subjects to higher expenses that we could not control. We decided to investigate the possibility of taking full dominion over our future sewer needs by building our own plant.”

What About the Costs?

At the September 10, 2024, Sewer Authority Board meeting, it was revealed that the potential cost of the plan is $150 million! “Can of Worms” regarding issuing a public bond to secure funding was mentioned. Not to worry, the Authority has hired a public relations firm!

Meanwhile, the Authority says it will work to “ensure that the advanced technology we envision for the plant addresses any potential concerns from residents.”

What are YOUR concerns? What do YOU think of the rate increase? TAKE MY SHORT SURVEY...

Related Content:

• “Sewer Authority Representatives Discuss Proposed Sewage Treatment Plant at #NewtownPA BOS Meeting”
• “#NewtownPA Sewer Authority Investigating Plans For Treatment Facility on Lower Silver Lake Road”

 

 

 

Posted on 08 Oct 2024, 10:14 - Category: Development