Delta officials vote to more than double water bills starting in December

Starting with December's bill, people using the water and sewer services from Delta will see higher rates. The increase is necessary to make the utilities pay for themselves, according to Mayor Barbara Bradshaw. Currently water and sewer users pay less as they use more water, a backward billing plan that costs the city thousands every year, she said.

Bradshaw broke a 2-2 tie among council members to pass the measure. Dale Hobeck and Lowell Fish also voted for it.

Without the new charges, the city will have to take nearly $20,000 out of its general fund in 2009 to pay for the utilities. The increase is the first since 1993, when a base rate for water use was set at $6 a month. The first bill reflecting the new rates will be mailed out in December, with a base water rate of $13.37 and $1.46 for each additional 1,000 gallons.

Total new charges will vary based on what each household uses above the minimum. Those using close to the average amount of water consumed, 4,100 gallons a month, will see a bill for just under $20.

The council set sewer rates at $5.65 for basic use and $1.15 for every additional 1,000 gallons.

Liz Long, a consulting engineer with Jackson-based Strickland Engineering, has been working with Delta officials and helped them determine the new fees that would allow the services to break even. She said if the city had been incrementally increasing rates since the water system was installed in 1973, customers would be paying bills close to $50 a month. During Wednesday's meeting, she reviewed the figures for more than 30 Delta residents and told them that, along with the single large increase, they should expect to see small increases on a regular basis in the future.

"It's broke. Let's fix it," said one man from the audience.

Long said an engineering report is being done on Delta's water system and the city is pursuing funding for an engineering report on the sewer system.

"With those reports, they'll have a better idea of what they need to do to upgrade their system," she said. "They have been doing an excellent job of taking care of what they've got to the best of their ability. But eventually, it will need upgrading and not just because of the age of the system and new regulations. Both have to be looked at as they move into the next step of upgrading."

Former city councilman Harold Looney said the bills need to be raised but "to do it in one big chunk with the price of gas and groceries going up — people just can't do it."

New federal regulations will require Delta and most other cities to improve their systems in the near future, Long said.

This year, Delta spent more than $30,000 to paint the city's 50,000-gallon water tank and install new valves, as required by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The repairs caused problems for some water customers when increased pressure caused some water lines to burst. Tom Erlbacher told the council it cost him more than $80 for the repair.

"I'd like for the city to pay to have it fixed," he said.

City attorney Tom Ludwig asked that Erlbacher and any other residents with similar water problems report them to the city. He said he was turning the matter over the city's insurance company.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127

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