Customers of the Eatonton-Putnam Water and Sewer Authority (EPWSA) will see an 8.7 percent increase in their water and sewer bills in 2023.
For the average consumer of 2,000 gallons per month, the increase should amount to about $11 monthly, according to Brice Doolittle, manager of the EPWSA system under contract with ESG Operations.
Rising costs and the need for capital have made some kind of rate increase apparent to the EPWSA board for several months. The only question was how much it would be. In earlier meetings, board member Judd Doster had reminded the board they had to balance EPWSA needs with the pressure a rate increase would add to low-income households.
This year’s rising costs have taken several forms. With December’s costs not yet included, Doolittle said EPWSA’s costs for chemicals had already nearly doubled the $70,000 budgeted. Then there are pieces like repair parts, supplies and fuel-adjustment charges. The two-county Sinclair Water Authority is under the same kinds of pressures and is increasing the price of treated water supplied to Putnam and Baldwin counties for their distribution systems.
Meanwhile, the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is giving a boost to local governments to keep operations running smoothly during and after the Covid pandemic.
EPWSA was approved for $3 million toward a $6-million list of projects.
Another $1 million over four years will come from the Eatonton and Putnam County governments, most of it their share of ARPA monies. EPWSA is responsible for raising the remaining $2 million over a four-year period.
By comparison, EPWSA’s total 2023 budget amounts to about $4 million.
However, while ARPA monies eventually will pay for two-thirds of EPWSA’s $6-million project list, the ARPA grant is not a blank check. To ensure local entities have “skin in the game,” the ARPA grant involves reimbursements for local monies spent upfront, thus the need for EPWSA to build in some additional up-front capital funds.
EPWSA also will begin paying principal on a series of previous, smaller, 40-year loans from Georgia’s Governmental Infrastructure Financing Authority (GIFA).
Many, but not all, of the items on the $6-million project list, will involve improvements to aging components of the city’s system: loops, to provide water from two directions that improve water pressures and fire protection; additional valves; updated mapping and a model, in addition to an ongoing manhole and hydrant maintenance program.