Water, sewer rate increases proposed for Hammond
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HAMMOND — City officials proposed to the council Tuesday night increases and other changes to water and sewer rates based on an overall 5 percent rate increase for utility customers.
The proposals come in the form of two ordinances: one that is a general water and sewer rate increase affecting all the city’s commercial and residential customers; and another targeted wastewater discharge for major industrial users.
The proposed general rate increase would:
Therefore, if the ordinance gains approval, bills for residents inside the city limits would increase from $27.68 to $28.76 monthly, including a $5 user fee imposed by the city a year ago.
The second ordinance is a 19-page ordinance targeting industrial users.
The ordinance essentially allows the city to limit the levels of certain contaminants in wastewater discharge coming from industrial users and apply surcharges if such users exceed the city’s plant capacity, Knight said.
In an interview before the meeting, Mayor Mayson Foster said the ordinance is a response to the city’s issue with a dairy processing plant.
The city negotiated a deal with the plant to pre-treat the dairy’s waste because it was contributing to the city’s higher-than-permitted levels of biochemical oxygen demand, which is a measure of the strength of sewage and can lead to a foul odor that residents had complained about a year ago.
Foster said the ordinance is meant to look to the future and apply to industries discharging 50,000 gallons or more of wastewater per day.
In addition to the dairy plant, the only other city customers covered by the ordinance are North Oaks Medical System and Southeastern Louisiana University.
The council unanimously voted to consider both ordinances Tuesday night.
The council will hold a public hearing and vote on whether to enact the increases at its July 15 meeting.
The proposals come in the form of two ordinances: one that is a general water and sewer rate increase affecting all the city’s commercial and residential customers; and another targeted wastewater discharge for major industrial users.
The proposed general rate increase would:
- Raise rates for all metered customers inside the city limits from $3.78 per 1,000 gallons to $3.96 per 1,000 gallons.
- Raise rates for all unmetered schools from $3.21 per 1,000 gallons to $3.36 per 1,000 gallons.
- Raise rates for customers outside the city limits from $7.56 per 1,000 gallons to $7.92 per 1,000 gallons
- Lower the water closet connection fee for multifamily units, such as apartment complexes and motels, from $100 per closet to $65 per closet but eliminate a clause that had capped such fees at $1,000.
Therefore, if the ordinance gains approval, bills for residents inside the city limits would increase from $27.68 to $28.76 monthly, including a $5 user fee imposed by the city a year ago.
The second ordinance is a 19-page ordinance targeting industrial users.
The ordinance essentially allows the city to limit the levels of certain contaminants in wastewater discharge coming from industrial users and apply surcharges if such users exceed the city’s plant capacity, Knight said.
In an interview before the meeting, Mayor Mayson Foster said the ordinance is a response to the city’s issue with a dairy processing plant.
The city negotiated a deal with the plant to pre-treat the dairy’s waste because it was contributing to the city’s higher-than-permitted levels of biochemical oxygen demand, which is a measure of the strength of sewage and can lead to a foul odor that residents had complained about a year ago.
Foster said the ordinance is meant to look to the future and apply to industries discharging 50,000 gallons or more of wastewater per day.
In addition to the dairy plant, the only other city customers covered by the ordinance are North Oaks Medical System and Southeastern Louisiana University.
The council unanimously voted to consider both ordinances Tuesday night.
The council will hold a public hearing and vote on whether to enact the increases at its July 15 meeting.
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