The West Easton Utilities Committee is exploring the feasibility and fairness of changing the sewer fees charged to residents.
In West Easton, all residents are charged equally for sewer water treatment. That water treatment charge is based on meter readings of all water meters recording water supplied by Easton Suburban Water Authority. Easton Area Joint Sewer Authority (EAJSA) uses the total of water supplied by Easton Suburban as the total of water they must treat.
That is to say, the total charge for the amount of treated water, calculated by water supplied to the borough, is divided equally among all residents when EAJSA requires payment for sewer water treatment.
Your water bill from Easton Suburban will not be affected by a change in sewer billing.
Currently, non-seniors pay $82.50 for sewer charges on their quarterly bills. Seniors pay $63. Those charges are incurred whether you only use 2 units of water, or 2000 units, supplied from Easton Suburban.
A unit of water is 748 gallons and the current billing system does nothing to promote water conservation.
The Utilities Committee, Chaired by Councilman Paul James, is weighing an option of residents paying for only what they send into the sewer system. Those sending less into the system, pay less. Those sending more into the system, pay more.
One resident at the Council meeting on Monday had a legitimate concern regarding the filling of an in-ground pool. Such water would not conceivably enter the sewer system.
The answer to that would be a “diversion” meter. This type of meter allows for water usage to be recorded by Suburban Water and charged for, but also allows for the recording the amount of water that is diverted from entering the sewer system, thereby offering an adjustment on sewer charges generated by EAJSA.
These meters would be the responsibility of the owner to purchase and also obtain the necessary plumbing permit to install.
Other municipalities allow the use of these meters and require the homeowner to sign an agreement regarding their use, which entails honesty of use and prohibiting diverting water back into the home. Without such a meter, no adjustment to sewer water fees is made.
This isn’t the first time paying-for-what-you-add has been considered, but it had always been rejected by previous Councils, because it was just easier to divide the total bill from the EAJSA among every resident.
The system, as it exists today, has become unfair to those 67% of residents who are actually paying more toward making up the difference from the 33% of excessive water users, in meeting the costs from the EAJSA.
There are a number of single family homes known in the borough to be renting rooms, or housing extended families. While most single family homes are at or below 14 units of water use per quarter, these other homes are using as much as 70 units (and they don’t have a pool).
Want to know if you are paying for other resident’s sewer water, or if you are happy to have them paying for yours?
If you are a non-senior and your recent water bill (from Suburban Water) shows 14 Units or less, you would save money, should the preliminary calculations of a new sewer billing system be used. Seniors, at 11 Units or less, would also see a savings on a sewer charge.
Are you above those amounts of units?
Check for leaks. Don’t let the water run unattended. Put a nozzle on your open hose. Wash bigger loads of laundry, rather than multiple small loads. Put a brick in your toilet tank. Full loads, if using a dishwasher, and when doing dishes by hand – scrub many with tap turned off – then rinse. Collect water in a rain barrel for use in your gardens.
It’s time for some of us to remember how to conserve water. If not for the earth, then for the wallet.
For those of you renting rooms and making money by doing so, be prepared to spend some of that income paying for that water being sent into the sewer system.
I will support a change to the sewer water billing system, should the Utilities Committee recommend one.
UPDATED 5:25 PM for better clarification and correcting grammatical errors.
Disclaimer: On January 4, 2016, the owner of WestEastonPA.com began serving on the West Easton Council following an election. Postings and all content found on this website are the opinions of Matthew A. Dees and may not necessarily represent the opinion of the governing body for The Borough of West Easton.
