$13 sewer rate increase planned soon for North Powder

NORTH POWDER – The City of North Powder announced in a recent newsletter that sewer rate increases are planned for the end of September. This only affects sewer rates, and not water rates or other utilities. The total increase is $13.05 a month and will not show up on resident’s bills until the end of October. The total monthly sewer rate for residents following the increase will be around $61.30 per month.

The rate increase was initially announced in February of this year as part of the city’s planned wastewater lagoon dredging/sludge removal project. The increase was required to allow North Powder to be eligible for project funding. In total, $856,000 has been provided to the city, split between a $233,350 grant and a $623,250 loan with a 2.61% interest rate. The project’s original deadline was September 15, though the delays mean the city is currently in talks with the Oregon Department of Environmental quality to extend the deadline to November 15, with a project opening bid date of September 12.

As a reminder to residents, the dredging project itself is the result of a buildup of solid waste material in the city’s wastewater lagoons due to an overabundance of non-sewage materials, including food waste, paper towels and wipes and, allegedly, even toys and drug paraphernalia. As written by the city in a previous newsletter:

“Since these things do not decompose at a rapid rate, they create what is known as ‘suspended solids,’ or particles that are waterborne that exceed 2 microns in size. The DEQ sets limits to the total number of suspended solids (TSS) allowed under the City’s wastewater discharge permit. There are also limits on things like BOD (biochemical oxygen demand), ammonia, pH, E.coli, alkanity, and nitrate, just to name a few. When solids don’t break down properly, it can, and often does, cause these components to exceed the limits set in the discharge permit.”

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Elkhorn Media Group