water bills - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-28T14:08:04Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/water+billsDelray Beach: City water customers face significant rate increaseshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-city-water-customers-face-significant-rate-increases2022-05-04T14:43:17.000Z2022-05-04T14:43:17.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Jane Smith</strong></p>
<p>Delray Beach residents could see average water and sewer bills jump more than 30% over the next five years, while the cost for those who regularly use much more city drinking water could double.<br />City commissioners unanimously approved the increases in a preliminary vote at their May 3 meeting, with the largest increases in the potable water rates. A final vote is expected May 17, when the public will have a chance to comment on the proposed rates.<br />The average residential water user, who consumes 6,000 gallons a month, would see a combined monthly bill of $75.66 in five years, up from the current $57.85.<br />Officials say the added income is needed to pay for a new water treatment plant. That plant will cost about $125 million, Daryll Parker of Willdan Financial Services, the city’s water rate study consultant, said at the March 8 commission meeting. The current plant is one of the oldest in the state. <br />Delray Beach has not raised its potable water rates since 2009, said retired City Manager David Harden, who discussed his concerns with <em>The Coastal Star</em>. <br />“The rates need to be modified,” Harden said, but the ones proposed “are too high, too fast.”<br />In January, he and his wife, Andrea, sold their historic home on Swinton Avenue. They used 29,500 gallons a month, mostly for the lawn, he said, because the city’s cheaper, reclaimed water isn’t available for irrigation there.<br /> Their water consumption put them in one of the highest-use residential categories. <br />Their average monthly water bill was $72.01, Harden said. If they had stayed in that house, their monthly water bill would increase to $164.35 under the proposed rates, he said, raising the water portion of the bill more than $1,100 a year. </p></div>Manalapan: Town wants more study of water deal with Boyntonhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/manalapan-town-wants-more-study-of-water-deal-with-boynton2016-03-30T15:33:36.000Z2016-03-30T15:33:36.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong><br /><br /> A positive report from Commissioner Clark Appleby has given the Manalapan Town Commission reason to take the next steps in exploring a water utility deal with Boynton Beach.<br /> Appleby, a financial adviser by trade, studied the potential impact of selling the town’s system and found that most of Manalapan’s customers would see their water bills decrease if the deal with Boynton goes through.<br /> “About 85 percent or more of the users would be saving money,” he told the commission during its March 22 meeting.<br /> Appleby said Manalapan cannot match those lower rates if it keeps its water system because the town does not have a large enough customer base. He said the plant currently is running at only 49 percent capacity and there isn’t enough volume with 880 customers to drive down cost. <br /> Boynton Beach has more than 100,000 customers — size enough to keep rates low.<br /> Making matters worse, before much longer the town will have to replace its aging infrastructure of pipes, an overhaul that will cost about $5 million.<br /> “That’s a huge hurdle for us,” Appleby said. “I don’t think this town wants to take on $5 million in debt.”<br /> Appleby recommended continuing talks for a deal with Boynton Beach. The commission unanimously agreed. <br /> Commissioners also agreed that, after hearing former Ocean Ridge Mayor Ken Kaleel urge them to get a more comprehensive study from an outside source, an additional analysis would be a good idea.<br /> “This is a huge, huge decision — it could be the biggest decision that you’ll make,” said Kaleel, a lawyer with clients in Manalapan. “Maybe this is good for the short term. But is it good for the long term?”<br /> Kaleel told the commission that Ocean Ridge made sure to maintain control of its pipes and delivery system when contracting with Boynton Beach for water. He said that keeping ownership of the infrastructure would give Manalapan more latitude to handle regional water shortages in years ahead.<br /> “We have a static customer base, and we’re faced with a fairly significant capital expenditure,” said Mayor David Cheifetz, who argued that the town should continue talking to Boynton while getting a consultant lined up for an independent review of the plan’s long-term impact.<br /> Commissioners said they would consider holding a public workshop once the review is done to get input from residents.<br /> In other business,Vice Mayor Peter Isaac said the Audubon Causeway bridge project still has a chance “to be substantially complete” before August.<br /> Isaac said he expects the south side of the bridge to be finished during the first two weeks of May, which will allow the removal of weight restrictions on traffic. Workers then will have 11 weeks to complete the north side.<br /> “There’s still a shot at the end of July” target date, he said.</p></div>