Mahanoy City sewer rates rising by 20%; authority cites costs of plant, regulations
MAHANOY CITY – Residents served by the Mahanoy City Sewer Authority will see a 20% rise — $8 a month — come January, as the authority approved a rate increase recently.
The rate increase impacts the January 2024 billing cycle and beyond. The base rate for one equivalent dwelling unit (EDU) was raised from $119.00 to $143.00 per quarter, or $8.00 per month.
“The last time the Board raised rates was in 2016. We haven’t been able to keep pace with increasing costs and a stagnant customer base,” Dorothy Lewis, Chairperson, said. “We don’t like doing it, but we have a duty to provide this critical service to our customers. I’m retired and live on a fixed income, so I understand the impact on our senior citizen customer base. Our staff works hard at finding ways to save costs and should be commended for keeping the old plant running so well.”
The plant, built in 1979, needs $10 Million in capital re-investment and the authority is seeking grants to minimize customer costs associated with that.
Additionally, the costs of chemicals, equipment, and materials needed a the plant have risen beyond budgeted estimates and some older equipment is no longer supported by manufacturers. Replacement parts for that equipment, they said, are hard to find or outright nonexistent.
Regulations have also led to increased costs, including meeting nitrogen and phosphorus limits required by the federal Chesapeake Bay Strategy, which aims to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment and other pollutants. Treated water from the Mahanoy treatment plant eventually ends up in the bay.
The state is also requiring the authority to complete a Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Long Term Control Plan (LTCP) for the entire collection system.
The goal of the program is to remove storm flows from the sanitary flows and convey them to the creek discharge without going through the plant, the authority says, and it could mean a $20 Million collection system rebuild, which they cannot afford and are fighting.
The Authority’s Bond Insurer also requires the Authority maintain user rates at ten percent (10%) over the debt service payments.
The new rates are still lower than the average Schuylkill County sewer service rate of over $50.00 per month, or $150 per quarter.
The Authority refinanced their debt in 2019 to be able to hold rates steady, but a rate increase is required to generate new revenue.
The Authority Board and staff continue to look for new ways to bring in revenue and have been in discussions with a number of local developers over the past few years.
With limited development in the Borough due to its geographic limitations, the Authority has only added one new commercial account in the past year, the Silver Springs Rehabilitation Facility, in Mahanoy Township, just east of the Borough.
There is optimism that the development along the Morea Road will lead to new customers.
The borough also said they have over 100 more building permit requests than this time last year, so the Authority is hoping the new influx will help generate the funds needed to meet our regulatory requirements.
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