Sewer Surcharge Revision - FAQ

 

What is a Sewer Surcharge?

A Sewer Surcharge is a mechanism to recover costs incurred when treating high strength waste discharged by some industrial and commercial users to the wastewater system. These additional funds are needed to cover the cost of operations and maintenance at the treatment plants and to make the wastewater system financially self-supporting.

Shouldn’t my taxes pay for this?

No. As an enterprise fund, the City’s utility system does not receive tax dollars. The utility is self-supporting and paid for by user fees and charges. Utility Operations makes every attempt to be as equitable as possible by charging customers according to the cost to provide the service they receive. In this case, operations and maintenance costs were used to determine the cost of treating the higher strength waste produced by some customers.

Why is the existing surcharge revision necessary?

Moline’s Water Pollution Control Department has a long-standing commitment to the environment. This commitment includes providing environmentally sensitive treatment of wastewater and sharing in the responsibility to protect the Mississippi and Rock Rivers. Moline’s treatment plants have been recognized for demonstrating a superior ability to meet national pollutant discharge standards. However, it is expensive to meet these standards. Utility Operations must be self-supporting through user fees and charges and the cost to treat some high strength waste has increased operation and maintenance costs at the treatment plants and on the collection systems. The residential ratepayer has been bearing the burden to help pay the additional costs of the higher strength wastewater produced by certain commercial and industrial users. Therefore, the equitable thing to do is charge those customers, whose wastewater costs more to treat, the additional cost to treat that high strength wastewater. A sewer study performed in 1984 provided some rudimentary guidelines assigning strength classifications for commercial users based on BOD and TSS contribution (see definitions below). After researching source information provided from direct sampling, data from other Public Owned Treatment Works, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies, this prior assignment of commercial users from the1984 study was found to be inaccurate. This surcharge revision will provide the correct commercial group assignment justified by accurate data representing BOD and TSS contribution.

What are the specific contaminants that are being measured and why do they cost more to treat?

BOD stands for Biochemical Oxygen Demand. BOD is the amount of oxygen that is used up or depleted by the bacteria, chemicals and other contaminants that are discharged into the wastewater. Since oxygen is required for the sustenance of aquatic life, it must be replenished through treatment before the treated "reclaimed" water can be released back into the Mississippi and Rock Rivers. The higher the BOD content coming into the plant, the more energy it takes to treat and restore oxygen into the "reclaimed" water during the treatment process. 

TSS stands for Total Suspended Solids. TSS are the solid particles that are suspended in wastewater that do not settle out. In wastewater, TSS is mostly organic in nature and can serve as refuges for harmful bacteria and other microorganisms. TSS can limit sunlight from reaching aquatic plant life, which is required for photosynthesis, a natural process essential to life.

Therefore, TSS must be removed from any water returned to the Mississippi and Rock Rivers. TSS is difficult to settle out and remove. Like BOD, TSS removal requires both a biological and high-energy process to remove. Both of these processes are costly. With TSS there is also a landfill disposal cost for removal from the treatment plant.

How does this program differ from the Pretreatment Program?

The Pretreatment Program is intended to eliminate non-compatible pollutants from the wastewater system. The Sewer Surcharge addresses the cost to treat higher strength wastewater that is compatible with the system, yet costs more to treat.

Do other cities have a similar program?

Sewer surcharge programs are not uncommon throughout the country. Within our area, East Moline, Rock Island, and Davenport, all have successful sewer surcharge programs in place.

How does the City decide which customers should be included in the program?

The long existing waste classification system was developed to determine who should be surcharged and how much based on contributed strength of discharge. The Director shall reevaluate BOD and TSS wastewater strengths generated by commercial users after consideration of source information provided from direct sampling, surveying data from other Public Owned Treatment Works, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies. 

Standard		Factor Times
Customer	Strength	Class 1 Rate
Class	Unit Range	of $2.79/1000 gallons
1	0 -1,000	1.00
2	1,001-1,400	1.22
3	1,401-1,800	1.46
4	1,801-2,200	1.69
5	2,201-2,600	1.93
6	2,601-3,000	2.17
7	3,001-3,400	2.40
8	3,401-3,800	2.64
9	3,801-4,200	2.88
10	4,201-4,600	3.12
11	4,601-5,000	3.36
12	5,001-5,400	3.60
13	5,401-5,800	3.84
14	5,801-6,200	4.08
15	6,201-6,600	4.32
16	6,601-7,000	4.56
17	7,001-7,400	4.80
18	7,401-7,800	5.04
19	7,801-8,200	5.28
20	8,201-8,600	5.52
21	8,601-9,000	5.76
22	9,001-9,400	6.00
23	9,401-9,800	6.24
24	9,801-10,200	6.48
25	10,201-10,600	6.72
26	10,601-11,000	6.96
27	11,001-11,400	7.20
28	11,401-11,800	7.44
29	11,801-12,200	7.68
30	12,201-12,600	7.92

How will I know what I will be charged?

The example below is based on using 50,000 gallons in the quarter billing cycle and the customer class is 5.

SEWER SURCHARGE WORKSHEET

USE TO ESTIMATE QUARTERLY BILL

 (CURRENT SEWER RATE IS $2.79 PER THOUSAND GALLONS CONSUMED)

LINE 1: ENTER WATER CONSUMPTION (GALLONS)	50,000
LINE 2: DIVIDE LINE 1 BY 1,000 ENTER ON LINE 3	1,000
LINE 3:	50
LINE 4: MULTIPLY LINE 3 BY $2.79 (CURRENT RATE)	$2.79
LINE 5: TOTAL	$139.50
LINE 6: MULTIPLY BY CLASS 5 FACTOR OF 1.93	1.93
LINE 7: TOTAL	$269.23
LINE 8: ADD QUARTERLY CHARGE PER BILL	$14.14
LINE 9: TOTAL	$283.38

What if I don't agree with the category my business has been placed in?

The Director shall be responsible for assigning each contributor to a customer class.  In the event the contributor does not agree with the classification, the contributor may request point specific representative sampling conducted by the Public Works Department, Water Pollution Control Division. The location and design of sampling sites must be approved by the Director.  Samples shall be collected in such a manner as to be satisfactory to the Director.  The laboratory methods used in analyzing samples of said wastewaters shall be in accordance with federal law, regulations, or guideline, if any; otherwise, by generally accepted scientific procedures. If sampling results are still not agreeable, or the sites are not satisfactory to the Director for reasons not limited to but including non-representative sampling points located at the contributing site in question, the two (2) parties shall agree on a qualified third party arbitrator to conduct an independent analysis and to be bound by the results obtained thereby. The cost of arbitration shall be borne by the contributor.  Such arbitrator shall be qualified in laboratory analysis. The location and design of sampling sites must be approved by the Director. Samples shall be collected in such a manner as to be satisfactory to the Director.  The laboratory methods used in analyzing samples of said wastewaters shall be in accordance with federal law, regulations, or guideline, if any; otherwise, by generally accepted scientific procedures. Inquiries about the protocol procedures may be addressed to the Pretreatment Program staff, at 309-524-2326. 

How can I lower my quarterly sewer bill?

Since the quarterly sewer bill is based on the number of metered gallons of water consumed, savings can be realized by conserving water. Technical assistance in lowering BOD and TSS discharges is available through the Illinois Waste Management and Research Center (WMRC). This organization is a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and is affiliated with the University of Illinois. WMRC can be contacted by dialing toll free 800-407-0261 or by visiting the website at www.hazard.uiuc.edu/wmrc