The Walker County (Georgia) Water and Sewerage Authority Board will allocate $100,000 to begin surveying areas for a sewage diversion project.
Brandon Whitley, general manager of the Walker County Water Treatment Plant, said the plan is to redirect sewage to an existing water treatment plant in Chickamauga rather than using the Moccasin Bend Wastewater Plant in Chattanooga for treatment and disposal.
The allocation, approved at a meeting on July 9, funds the first phase of surveying land and pipelines for development, as well as preliminary designs for the project, Whitley said.
In June, the city of Chattanooga announced a 9.8% increase for regional partners that utilize the Moccasin Bend facility. In unincorporated Walker County, the rate will increase from $2.1888 to $2.4033 per 1,000 gallons, Whitley said.
In 2013, Chattanooga was placed on a federal consent decree to curb sewage overflows into the Tennessee River. Since then, the city has allocated more than $264 million for upgrades, and that cost has trickled down to customers. Chattanooga serves the cities of Collegedale, Red Bank, East Ridge, Soddy-Daisy, Rossville, Fort Oglethorpe, Lookout Mountain in Georgia and Tennessee, part of the Hixson Utility District, as well as portions of Walker and Catoosa counties, according to the Chattanooga Wastewater Collection & Treatment System website.
The increase wasn't a surprise to Walker County Commissioner Shannon Whitfield.
"Chattanooga has stated pretty clearly that they anticipate a 9% to 10% rate increase pretty much every year," Whitfield told the Sewerage Authority Board, of which he is chairman, on July 9.
Chattanooga processes 62 million to 100 million gallons of wastewater from Walker County per month, the number fluctuating depending on rainwater. The authority sells about 15 million gallons to its customers each month, which covers the authority's overhead costs plus what is sent to Chattanooga for treatment, Whitley said.
The authority has invested more than $700,000 over the last year to fix deteriorating sewage pipelines across the county that were built in the 1970s. Whitfield said these pipes are allowing more stormwater to get into the sewer system, which "runs up the cost of treatment."
Last year, the authority voted to increase the monthly base rate for water and sewage from $15 to $19 for its 11,000 customers, according to a Times Free Press article. In 2017, the board increased water and sewage fees by about 15% to replace galvanized pipes, according to another article.
"At some point in time we might have to do another extensive review of our rate structures," Whitfield said at the meeting.
Last month, Chattanooga filed a lawsuit alleging that the Walker County Water and Sewerage Authority breached a 2016 wastewater contract. The lawsuit claims the authority hasn't fully paid Chattanooga for water treatment and disposal over the past three years.
Whitfield said he couldn't go into detail, but that the bills sent to the authority have an extra line item not included in the contract.
"Each month, we have been adjusting the bill to reflect the proper billing structure of the contract," he said.
Walker County's fiscal budget year begins Oct. 1. Whitfield said if there is a need for a rate increase, it'll have to be approved before then.
"We are here to manage and bring value to our customers. Any time we have a vendor that has an increase in cost, we have to figure out how to cover that cost," he said.
Contact Sabrina Bodon at sbodon@timesfreepress.com.