InfrastructureNewark to raise water rates to pay for infrastructure
A report presented to Newark’s city council said that the town’s water and sewer rates will be increased by more than 60 percent over the next ten years in order to pay for $500 million in infrastructure repairs to the town’s faulty and outdated meters, century-old, leaky pipes, and broken valves.
Flooding resulting from a water main in 2013 // Source: ning.com
A report presented to Newark’s city council said that the town’s water and sewer rates will be increased by more than 60 percent over the next ten years in order to pay for $500 million in infrastructure repairs to the town’s faulty and outdated meters, century-old, leaky pipes, and broken valves.
NJ.comreports that the report, which was prepared by Malcolm Pirnie Arcadis, says that Newark needs $177 million in repairs over just the next six years, and that substantial increases in water and sewer rates could become a national trend.
“Newark is not alone,” John Mastrocchio, a consultant for Malcolm Pirnie, told NJ.com. “America needs to make an investment in what we call buried infrastructure.”
Under the plan, there will be a 6 percent hike every year until 2019, when the increase changes to 4 percent per year. Sewer rates will increase by 7 percent a year for the next several years.
The increases are sure to upset many, but the report says, Newark’s water rates are extremely low compared to other communities.
The average household in Newark pays about $25 a month in water rates, but in South Orange and Bloomfield, rates average around $50 per month. Under the plan, by 2022, the monthly water rate would be about $40 per month and the monthly sewer rate would increase from $35 a month to $58.
The rate increases will allow the water and sewer utility companies to issue bonds for capital improvements. City officials are hesitant to endorse the bill, but they know something has to be done to improve water infrastructure.
“Our infrastructure needs investment and we have to kind of decide which projects are a priority,” North Ward Councilman and mayoral candidate Anibal Ramos told NJ.com. “The uncomfortable part is having to increase water and sewer rates to make improvements.”
Council members said they would try to find other ways to pay for the infrastructure improvements, but even if the plan is not approved, there will be some form of rate hike in the future.
“I think what they gave us was a very aggressive approach to addressing the issues,” Ramos told NJ.com. “How much that costs will adjust.”
