ONE DOUBTS that very many Rome residents — if any — cheered the suggestion by City Manager John Bennett that base water rates be increased for consumers of the precious product, which the city has in ample supply. Nonetheless, that would be the smart thing to do.
Rome’s water and sewer rates have been climbing steadily, with the current proposal under consideration calling for water volume usage prices to go up 2 percent and sewer by 3 percent. That’s not caused by increases in the price of the product itself — water, after all, is free (if not pure and ready to drink) for Romans because of their rivers.
Rather, this is due by largely fixed costs for processing at a time when volume/usage is down. Less water/sewer used, less income derived from it. At the same time, with costs largely fixed that means the break-even overhead point isn’t being reached.
This is caused, most Romans hopefully know, not by some water shortage as in the Atlanta metro but rather by the closing of one very major water user (the Mohawk dye plant) and state restrictions on lawn watering, car washing and so forth that are actually not necessary here. Less water used, less money coming in.
THE BASE RATE situation is actually a separate issue, though not unrelated. Bennett said those “core” rates should go up by perhaps $3 a month (for everyone) to assure the money needed to pay for debt on new facilities/improvements mandated by federal and state environmental regulations. That sum equals about 40 percent of all water/sewer revenues, he noted.
At present, customers pay a base rate of $4.02 monthly for service, plus a charge for the number of gallons used. The initial proposal calls for the base rates to go to $6 or $7, but would include in the price the first 750 gallons.
The purification/treatment/delivery costs come out of the other 60 percent of the revenues — the portion that slides up and down based on volume of use.
Many water users don’t understand that water/sewer is what’s known as an “enterprise fund.” Those who use the product are supposed to cover 100 percent of the costs, not only for the “product” that they use but also for facility improvements or expansions to the system (like laying new water lines). There is no tax money at all involved, other than perhaps the occasional local (SPLOST) assistance and state or federal grants received to help with sometimes massive infrastructure costs. If it weren’t for those, water/sewer rates would already be considerably higher.
The new water-treatment facility on Black’s Bluff Road cost more than the new, just-approved Model High School will.
THE ROME system’s current plans to move the city’s main water intake to the Etowah River from the Oostanaula would be an additional improvement pegged at $10 million. An Etowah supply point (it is now set up only to act as a backup) would be more reliable because of the flow control coming from Allatoona Dam and far less susceptible to upstream industrial pollution (such as from the Dalton area carpet mills).
That’s a sum that, minus possible federal assistance, would also become part of what the “base rate” needs to cover. Rome is blessed with a comparative abundance of water of generally good quality — even without the reservoir it should have to back up the system in times of drought, even without drilling deep wells.
To some extent, long-time Romans take the current abundance for granted along with the relatively low price of the product. The fact is that, even with the projected increases, water hereabouts is a bargain even though users tend to howl at every boost.
THEY MIGHT want to count their blessings in ledger format. For example, consider Santa Fe, N.M., which gets 40 percent of its supply from reservoirs (filled annually by melting mountain snow runoff) and 60 percent from wells. That city’s base residential rate is $12.42 a month (after the boost, Rome’s might be at $7).
The volume charges there? They’re $4.09 per thousand gallons up to 7,000, then $14.64 for every 1,000 above that. Rome’s rates are based on 100 cubic feet (750 gallons) and the charges vary by “zones” (how far the water must travel) but start at $4.02 (per 750 gallons). Need more? That’s per 100 cubic feet and zones as well, but the charges start at $2.08 ... apparently for as much as you want.
Rome has an excellent, modern water system even though with some very old pipes probably in need of replacement (Rome’s had piped water ever since what’s now called the Clock Tower was built, remember). It’s sewer treatment facility and capability are currently ready for anything that the future and growth can throw at it.
The only thing it doesn’t have is a revenue system immune from fluctuations in the industrial base and misapplied state water-use restrictions. Stabilizing this situation and thus largely eliminating future constant jumps in the rates should be, as the city manager proposes, the next step.
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