Poplar Bluff residents could soon see a sewer rate increase that city officials have been discussing since 2012, when voters agreed to pay for nearly $19 million in system upgrades.
The increase could represent an approximately 70% bump in the average residential sewer bill, once it is fully phased in.
City council members will workshop and vote Monday on the proposed rate structure, which will take place in two stages. Increases are expected around the time construction starts and at substantial completion, which could take 12-18 months.
Upgrades are needed to meet stronger requirements under a settlement between the city and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, officials say.
Final dates for when the increases will take place were not included in city documents released Friday and the information was not available from city officials as of Friday afternoon.
The average residential bill would go from $16.56 per month to $28.45 per month, when all increases are in place, according to figures released by engineers in early 2018.
The current base rate for residential customers is $7.25, with a cost per 1,000 gallons of $2.0002.
The base rate will increase to $11.25 in the first phase, and to $14.50 in the second and final phase. The cost per 1,000 gallons will go to $2.50 and then to $3.
These proposed rates were also released in April 2018, during a public rate hearing. Construction was previously expected to begin in 2016, and then 2018. The project has seen delays from funding and regulatory agencies, Greg Bell of Smith & Company Engineers has said previously.
The city has applied for a low interest loan from the State Revolving Fund to pay for the project. The fund is operated by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The debt will be repaid over a 20-year period.
The Poplar Bluff system has approximately 6,500 residential customers, who used an average 4,600 gallons of water each month in the period used to calculate the rate estimates released in 2018.
Residential customers made up just over 60% of rate collections.
Increases will also be seen for commercial and industrial classes of customers who use from 5,000 to more than 100,000 gallons of water per month, according to information released in 2018.
Base rates per month for the following customers are currently: class 2, $11.14; class 3, $17.39; class 4, $36.18; and class 5, $67.49.
According to figures released Friday, at the final stage of increases these will be: class 2, $25; class 3, $50; class 4, $85; and class 5 $240.
The last rate increase occurred in 2010.
DNR issued Poplar Bluff a new permit March 1, 2015, which set tighter restrictions on the measurements of dissolved oxygen, ammonia and suspended solids in treated wastewater. The standards help determine the effectiveness of the treatment plant.
Issuance of the permit comes after 13 years of negotiations between the city and DNR concerning the changes. The permit is issued through 2022.