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About Your Water and Sewer Bill
Effective July 1, 2007
Update: Phase 4 Starting July 1, 2007, your water and sewer bill will reflect new rates for water and wastewater services for the period July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008. A residential customer's typical monthly bill will increase to $53.31, an increase of $2.14. These new rates are the third of a four-phase change in rates to be spread over a three and a half-year period.
The first phase of the rate changes were applied February 1, 2005 through July31, 2005. The second phase of the rate changes were applied August 1, 2005 through June 30, 2006. The third phase of the rate changes were applied July1, 2006 through June 30, 2007. The Fourth phase of the rate changes will be applied July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008.
Your monthly bill has two parts. One is the usage charge, which is based upon the amount of water used and wastewater produced, as measured by the water meter.
The other part is the monthly service charge, based on the size of the water meter. The service charge is the cost of basic service, which includes stormwater collection and treatment as well as metering, billing, and collecting revenues.
The July bill of Phase 3 rate change is higher than future bills under Phase 3. The July bill includes an adjustment for the three-month advance service charge. Your August bill, and those following, will be lower because they will be based on the standard one-month service charge. Our long-standing practice of maintaining a three- month reserve of the monthly service charge remains the same. As in the past, updating the reserve takes place with the first billing under new rates; in this case, your July bill.
Most customers, including households and small businesses, have a 5/8-inch size meter. Quantity Charge
Wastewater Surcharges
Suspended Solids = $0.247 per pound of suspended solids in excess of 350 mg/1
I Mcf = 1,000 cubic feet = 7,480 gallons mg/1 = milligrams per liter
YES. Qualifying seniors, 65 years of age or older, can receive a 25 percent discount, and the income test to qualify for this discount is $26,700. The same discount applies to charities, churches, non-profit hospitals, schools and universities.
In your February 2005 bill, we described the measures we have taken to control costs. In your August 2005 bill, we listed some major initiatives we are undertaking such as the construction of a new pumping station, a comprehensive assessment of our sewer system, and water treatment research at two pilot plants.
We are also developing an online drinking water quality monitoring system, and implementing an Early Warning System to protect our drinking water sources, the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, from chemical spills and other potential hazards. Some of the Water Department's other major projects will improve the City's water main system, reduce stormwater runoff from combined sewer overflows, help restore the City's streams, provide advanced source water protection efforts, and create a "natural" treatment plant -- a stormwater wetland.
Our rates will still be among the lowest in the region after the rate change. Nationally, we are about in the middle when compared with similar urban utilities.
The mayor, city council president and city controller appoint an independent hearing officer who presides over the hearings and sets the time, place and number of hearings. The public hearings for the current rate changes were held in the spring of 2005. The public was invited to attend the formal hearings or offer comments at that time.
The hearing officer submitted his report and recommendations to the water commissioner who determines the rates. The hearing officer can also recommend that the department take specific actions. The hearing officer recommended, and the water commissioner adopted, a four-phase change to rates over a three and a half-year period, from February 1, 2005 to June 30, 2008.
Low-income customers in danger of shut-off can still apply to the Water Revenue Bureau for the Water Revenue Assistance Program. They can receive grants up to $200 to pay water bills and get help in obtaining federal energy assistance. For more information about the Water Revenue Assistance Program, please call 215-686-6880.
*The Water Revenue Bureau is not responsible for payments made at any location other than the authorized payment locations listed above. If you would like more information about other Water Department projects, please call us at 215-686-6880.
Questions & Answers about your new water and sewer charges brochures (pdf)
New Rates: Questions & Answers (7/07) |
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