District residents will see their water bills more than double over the next six years in an effort to pay for a massive tunnel project aimed at stopping sewage from overflowing into the Anacostia and Potomac rivers.
Now, D.C. officials are trying to figure out how to get Maryland and Virginia to pitch in more, softening the blow for city residents.
Much of the increase is due to a dedicated tax to pay for a $2.6 billion tunnel that will run 13 miles from Northeast Washington, under the Anacostia, and end at D.C.’s Blue Plains treatment facility on the Potomac. The tax was implemented in 2009, but as construction ramps up, the average annual tax of $41.40
per household will increase to more than $345 by 2019, according to a recently released Brookings Institution report. Meanwhile, water bills are projected to increase from an average $576 per year to $1,248 per year for District residents.
| Bills, bills, bills | ||||
| Average monthly charge for: | 2009 | 2011 | 2019 | 10-yr change |
| D.C. water retail rate | $37.53 | $46.09 | $70.45 | 88% |
| Impervious Area Charge* | $1.24 | $3.45 | $28.77 | 2,220% |
| Metering fee | $2.01 | $3.86 | $3.86 | 92% |
| * dedicated tax for tunnel project | ||||
| Source: Brookings Institution | ||||
But that won’t be the end of it — the tunnel project, which will collect sewage and other runoff that now overflows into the surrounding waterways during rainstorms, isn’t slated to wrap up until 2025.
“There’s no question these charges will continue to increase after 2019,” said George Hawkins, general manager of D.C. Water and Sewer Authority.
He added that the District is locked into the project, which is federally mandated by a 2005 consent decree to reduce sewer overflows.
The notion leaves some feeling that they have no recourse.
“I don’t know what to say — I mean, boy I’m not happy about this,” said Capitol Hill resident Neil Glick.
In addition, federal help with the project has been unpredictable, as funding went from $20 million in 2010 to $11.5 million this year. Hawkins said he’s concerned that could fall off completely and DC Water would have to halt other major projects like the upgrade and expansion of the District’s 19th-century sewer system.
David Robertson, executive director of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, said he thought he could bring the municipalities together “pretty quickly” to begin discussions on paying for the project. Under a 1985 agreement, which is now being updated, Fairfax, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission already contribute to DC Water for using its sewer system.
Representatives for those entities pointed to that agreement Wednesday, saying they’re already doing their part.
Fairfax County spokeswoman Merni Fitzgerald noted the localities are combining for 7.1 percent of the tunnel project.
“We have been paying all along,” she said.
