About 225,000 Baltimore County residents will pay more to turn on the water tap and flush the toilet this summer when a 7.5 percent rate increase goes into effect July 1, officials said.
The increase affects all of the county?s public water and sewer customers, including about 10,000 commercial users, officials said. The increase ? nearly double the rise Baltimore City residents will see ? will help fund federally mandated upgrades to the county?s aging and chronically overflowing sewage system, County Executive Jim Smith said.
“We?re talking about a $900 million investment over 15 years, and that?s a major ingredient in this 7.5 percent increase,” Smith said. “The tremendous capital expense going into revamping most of our pumping stations is a major factor.”
For a family of four, the county?s sewage service charge will increase about $37 per year, county water distribution fees will rise almost $6 and the city?s water supply charge will increase nearly $14, said Steve Hinkel, chief of administrative services for the county?s Public Works Department. Combined, the average county household will pay an extra $57 annually.
County residents saw a 15 percent rate increase last year but none the year prior, Hinkel said. In comparison, city customers saw a 9 percent increase for each of the past two years.
The increase also will cover increasing costs for labor, materials, fuel and electricity to operate the systems, Hinkel said.
“Water costs like many things in this economy ? more,” he said.
Many area jurisdictions are finding themselves with expensive sewage repairs, said Anirban Basu, president of the Sage Policy Group Inc., a Baltimore-based economic and policy consulting firm, and chairman of Baltimore County?s economic advisory committee. The extra work came at a bad time, when suitable labor and construction materials also cost more, he said.
“Much of this work has been neglected and has to be done all at once,” Basu said. “When you catch up, it costs money.”
