For the second year in a row, water and sewer bills for Walker County residents are going up.
The Water & Sewerage Authority voted June 12 to increase the monthly base pay for water and sewer from $15 to $19, each. On top of that, the amount charged per 1,000 gallons of water or sewer will go up from $3.50 to $4.65. The increases begin Aug. 1.
In a letter to residents, members of the Authority explained that they want this extra money to invest in "tens of millions" of dollars worth of water and sewer line upgrades over the next three years. The county also wants to upgrade its filtration plant in Chickamauga.
County Spokesman Joe Legge said the plant looks like "an old, rusty battleship" that will fall apart because of decay.
Last June, members of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division issued a boil water notice in the county after a test showed E. coli in a source well after surface water got inside. The county takes water from this well and runs it through the plant in Chickamauga before delivering it to customers.
But the plant's filtration system was designed to treat only well water, not surface water. The EPB did not determine exactly how surface water ended up in the well, Legge said. Also, no water tested positive for E. coli after going through treatment. But it didn't matter: the Authority needed a new filter.
For the past year, the Authority has rented two temporary filters, which sit outside the plant on what looks like a tractor trailer. The filters are hooked into the water line. For the past year, according to the Authority, the filters have cost $820,000.
Legge said county officials are looking into a long-term solution. But that, too, will cost money.
The impact of the rate increases depend on how much water a family uses. But if a family uses 6,000 gallons of water: the monthly bill will increase from $36 to $46.90. The sewer bill will increase in a similar fashion.
This is the second rate hike in a year. On May 1, 2017, the Authority raised the base pay of the bill from $11 to $15. In addition, the Authority had previously charged $3.50 per 1,000 gallons of water - but it did not charge a family for the first 1,000 gallons it used. The Authority eliminated that exception last year.
Walker County Commissioner Shannon Whitfield is the chair of the Authority. Other members include Chickamauga City Manager Michael Haney, Bill Cooke, Scott Abston and Annette North.