PINE BLUFF -- Pine Bluff Wastewater Utility officials are proposing a 23 percent rate increase to fund improvements to the city's sewage treatment infrastructure.
Wastewater Utility General Manager Ken Johnson said the increase would be phased in over three years to help customers adjust to the cost. A resolution will be submitted to the Pine Bluff City Council's Public Works Committee before the end of the year, and the City Council must approve the measure before it can go into effect.
The city has not had a wastewater rate increase since 2005.
Based on an average monthly bill of $16.21, a resident would see an increase of $1.62 per month in 2015 and a $3.73 monthly increase by 2017, Johnson said, adding that the initial increase would not be reflected on bills until at least February.
Some Pine Bluff residents, such as Trudy Rainwater, welcomed the proposal. She said she had a sewage backup in her home several years ago and prays it will never happen again.
"You are talking about a serious issue with public health here, and I think paying a little extra for a better system is well worth it, 100 percent," Rainwater said.
But for other residents, the extra few dollars a month will pinch their pocketbooks even tighter. Randy Jones said he counts pennies just to be able to put food on his table, and having to spend more money -- even if it's just a few dollars -- on monthly bills isn't easy.
"Money is so tight right now for so many people," Jones said. "I just wish government could find a better way to fund their projects instead of off the backs of us poor folks. I understand improvements have to be made, but it looks like other funding would be available from somewhere."
Regardless of public opinion, Johnson said improvements must be made.
Some of Pine Bluff's wastewater infrastructure is more than 120 years old, and while there have been no significant problems reported, Johnson said upgrades are needed to ensure none arise.
If passed, money from the increase would be used to fund construction of a new wastewater pump station on the city's south side, as well as improvements to existing pipes. Johnson said the utility has used pipe liners as temporary fixes for older pipes that had a higher risk of rupturing.
But "it's time for us to look at the long-term picture here, and our goal is to really update our system for the future," he said.
Johnson added that the proposed rate increase is "a bargain for the buck. When you look at the alternative, there really is none. You have to have the proper infrastructure in place."
The rate increase would keep Pine Bluff's wastewater bills on the low end when compared with other medium and large cities around the state.
According to information provided by Johnson, only Jonesboro residents pay a lower average monthly rate than Pine Bluff, at $14.45 per month.
North Little Rock residents pay $29.12 on average, Hot Springs residents' bills average $36.33, Fayetteville residents pay $39.44 on average, and in Conway the average bill is $43.80 per month.
In Fort Smith, wastewater customers are in for a large increase that will fund major improvements to the system.
Officials said it's estimated that an average monthly utility bill of $43, which includes water and sewer service, will increase over five years to $84.
All of the increase is expected to be in sewer-service charges.
Fort Smith officials are tentatively scheduled to vote on entering into a federal consent decree Dec. 16 that will obligate the city to spend at least $204 million over 12 years and increase residents' bills to fix the sewer system.
The fixes involve construction totaling an estimated $77 million to increase sewer system line capacity, $115 million to fix or replace leaking and broken lines, and $12.5 million to assess the condition of the city's 500 miles of sewer lines.
City officials announced in October that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department had cut off eight years of negotiations with Fort Smith and were planning to sue the city in federal court over decades-long violations of the federal Clean Water Act.
Fort Smith has had a chronic problem with the sewer system being overwhelmed during periods of heavy rain. The rain infiltrates the system through broken and leaking pipes.
It deluges the city's two wastewater treatment plants with stormwater and sewage, bypasses the plants and flows untreated into the Arkansas River.
Information for this article was contributed by Dave Hughes of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
State Desk on 12/08/2014