Agenda - 08-15-2000-9d - Laserfiche WebLink

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~3 The perceived cost burden of the availability of wastewater utility service on a utility customer often depends more on the utility's methodology for cost recovery than on the actual cost of constructing wastewater infrastructure. In general, costs of treatment infrastructure aze recovered through capital facility or availability fees; costs of collection system construction are recovered through assessments; and costs of operation are recovered through per gallon sewer use rates. Some utilities, Hillsborough for example, charge a perpetual maintenance fee to developers whose projects require the use of a wastewater pumping station that must become the responsibility of the utility. Fees levied against developers are ultimately transferred to individual homeowners through the cost of lots or homes. Other utilities, OWASA for example, do not charge perpetual maintenance fees. The cost of operating any pumping station is spread across the entire base of rate payers through sewer use rates. Insofar as the Richmond Hills project is concerned, the operating/maintenance cost impact on an individual sewer customer would be greater with a STEP system than with a gravity collector system. This would be true even if some cost recovery methodology were utilized to fund the monthly operating costs of a central Richmond Hills pumping station solely from revenues derived from Richmond Hills customers. The estimated present cost for operating, maintaining and replacing equipment at a central pumping station serving the Richmond Hills subdivision could be expected to average $600 to $800 per month If these costs were divided equally among 43 sewer customers in Richmond Hills, the monthly cost to each household would average in the range of $1 S to $20, over and above sewer use costs. If these costs were apportioned equally among the 1 SO total customers of the existing Efland sewer system and the proposed Richmond Hills sub-system, the monthly cost to each customer would range from $4.00 to $S.SO, over and above sewer use costs. If a STEP system were utilized, cost per household would approach $S per month for electricity, $2S0 every 3 to S years for septic tank clean out and $1200 every ten years for pump replacement/equipment repair. Furthermore, asemi-annual preventive maintenance inspection of each STEP system would cost an additional $100 per year. If all of these costs were amortized vn a monthlybasis, each household would face a monthly cost, over and above sewer use costs, of approximately $30. Collection System Operating Cost Summary Gravity collector/central Gravity collector/central STEP collection system costs pumping station costs when pumping station casts whee wpen recovered only from recovered only fram recovered from all Efland Richmond Hills customers Richmond Hills custamers sewers stem customers $1 S - $20 per month over $4.00 - $S. SO per month over $30 per month over & above sewer use rates & above sewer use rates 8t above sewer use rates