AUB ANNOUNCES NEW RATES
FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER SERVICES

ATHENS, Tenn. - The Athens Utilities Board of Directors yesterday executed the first reading of a resolution that would raise water and wastewater rates for AUB customers.

The reading of the resolution took place during the regular monthly board meeting at AUB’s offices. Revenue resulting from the increased collections will fund improvements at the Oostanaula wastewater plant, improvements to the wastewater collection system, and infrastructure projects for the water system, said AUB spokesman Wayne Scarbrough.

Under the proposed new rate structure the service availability charge for residential wastewater customers would go from the current $5 per month to $16 per month. The per-gallon usage charge would go from $3.50 per 1,000 gallons used to $4 per 1,000 gallons used, with the first 1,000 gallons being covered by the service availability charge. Wastewater usage charges are based on water consumption, in gallons.

For residential water, the service availability charge for customers in the city of Athens would go from the current $4.50 per month to $7 per month for single-use accounts, and from $7.50 per month to $10 per month for multi-use accounts. The per-gallon rate for water would go from the current $1.65 per 1,000 gallons to $1.75 per 1,000 gallons.

To compare a bill using current rates versus the proposed new rates, a customer using 4,000 gallons of water in a billing period would see his water bill increase by $2.90, from $11.10 to $14. If that customer were on the wastewater system, the wastewater bill would increase by $9, from $19 to $28. The combined increase for a customer on the water and wastewater systems would be $11.90.

More than half of the AUB customers who are on the wastewater system use less than 3,000 gallons of water per month according to AUB data.

Scarbrough said everyone at AUB understands individual opposition to rate increases. “As ratepayers ourselves, we know that nobody likes higher rates. But the new rate structure is a necessary investment that every community member makes in the community,” he said. “Our system is simply getting old. As with an aging car or any other mechanical system, upgrades and replacements become necessary over time. These systems are expensive to design, build, run and maintain,” he said.

AUB is planning a $16 million upgrade to the Oostanaula wastewater treatment plant, a relic of the 1960s. This upgrade to a high-volume plant with state of the art technology will be more protective of the local waterways and will go a long way toward getting Athens off of the sewer moratorium, Scarbrough said.

The state-mandated moratorium limits the addition of new customers to the Athens system. “It practically stifles our community’s ability to gain new industry and the jobs that come along with development,” he said.

Along with the treatment plant upgrade, AUB will continue to work on the wastewater collection system, which suffers from failing concrete lines that have numerous leaks from age-related cracks, tree roots invasion, failing gaskets, and other causes.

The community’s water system also will benefit from needed upgrades. Notably, the utility plans to construct two new water reservoirs and associated distribution lines; install security measures relative to AUB water sources to better protect the community’s water customers; and re-lay water lines in downtown Athens to improve distribution, water losses and water quality. AUB will also use new revenues to implement and maintain compliance with new water system regulations imposed by EPA and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.