Sims commends County Council for adopting sewer rate increase

Calling it a victory for public health, the environment and the regional economy, King County Executive Ron Sims commended the County Council’s decision to adopt a two-year monthly wholesale sewer rate of $31.90.

The council also approved a monthly capacity charge rate of $47.64, which newly connecting customers will pay in addition to their monthly sewer bill.

The current monthly wholesale sewer rate set in 2006 is $27.95 with the capacity charge at $46.25.

The increases are needed to fund vital sewer improvement projects to serve growth and protect regional water quality while preserving the utility’s solid credit rating. The new rates will become effective on Jan. 1, 2009.

“I am glad we could find common ground – the council’s vote ensures that the county’s clean-water utility remains adequately funded and well-managed, and the ratepayers will get the stability and predictability of a two-year rate,” said County Executive Ron Sims.

The 2008 adopted financial plan had originally forecast the 2009 sewer rate at $32.97 and a capacity charge at $47.64.

In April, economic turmoil seizing the municipal bond markets prompted Sims to propose a one-year sewer rate of $30.20, with the idea that a shorter term rate would maximize borrowing opportunities and guard against future rate spikes.

Because conditions in the financial markets have somewhat stabilized since earlier in the spring, Sims agreed that the preferred policy of a two-year rate was attainable unless financial conditions in the bond market worsen significantly over the next year.

Underlying Sims’ proposal is the elimination of more than $66 million in Wastewater Treatment Division capital expenditures between 2008 and 2010 by deferring non-critical projects to future years after completion of the $1.8 billion Brightwater treatment system. It also includes reductions in other low priority programs, and utilizing 26 existing staff positions to operate the new Carnation and Brightwater treatment plants

The council voted unanimously to approve a companion ordinance authorizing the Wastewater Treatment Division, or WTD, to issue up to $900 million in sewer revenue and limited tax general obligation bonds to cover costs to finance its capital program over the next two years. Additionally, the ordinance authorizes up to $200 million to refund current bonds under certain favorable economic conditions. In 2008, WTD has budgeted $503 million in capital expenditures.

The biggest factor leading to the proposed 2009 sewer rates is current expansion of the wastewater utility system. Work currently under way includes the Brightwater Treatment System, which is expected to comprise about 75 percent of the Wastewater Treatment Division’s capital spending over the next three years.

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People enjoy clean water and a healthy environment because of King County's wastewater treatment program. The county’s Wastewater Treatment Division protects public health and water quality by serving 17 cities, 17 local sewer districts and more than 1.4 million residents in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. Formerly called Metro, the regional clean-water agency now operated by King County has been preventing water pollution for more than 40 years.

Note to editors and reporters: Visit the WTD Newsroom, a portal to information for the news media about the Wastewater Treatment Division, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks: http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wtd/newsroom/.

Related Information

King County Wastewater Treatment Division