Water rate increases coming

WINSTON COUNTY - Upper Bear Creek Water Authority (UBCWA) has raised its water rates by $.40 per 1,000 gallons, resulting in increases for city water customers in Haleyville and Lynn, effective Dec. 1, and perhaps in more towns in the future.
This is a slightly more than 21 percent increase, Haleyville Water Works and Sewer Board (HWWSB) Manager Lane Bates explained, noting that what UBCWA charges is increasing from $1.90 per 1,000 gallons of water to $2.30.
Haleyville water customers will see the increased rates for the first time on their January bills.
At its Tuesday, Nov. 26, meeting, the HWWSB unanimously passed a motion to delay the third of five scheduled three-percent annual water rate increases until 2026 and instead pass a six percent water rate increase for 2025, applicable to municipalities who purchase water wholesale from Haleyville as well as to its retail customers. This increase will cover only the additional cost of purchasing water from UBCWA, not any other additional costs HWWSB can expect to incur for supplies and equipment due to typical inflation.
Before making a recommendation to the board, HWWSB Chairman Ken Sunseri asked City Engineer Calvin Cassidy why UBCWA needed to raise rates so substantially since The Cassidy Company had prepared a water rate study report for UBCWA.
"It's based on expenses there at the plant and in order for them to do some needed upgrades that they've got to do," Cassidy said. "That was why the request for a rate study was done, and we prepared it, and bottom line numbers ( . . .), if they're going to continue to supply water to Haleyville, Phil Campbell and Bear Creek, these are upgrades that they've got to do."
Asked what improvements were necessary, Cassidy said, "The plant was built in the '70's. They've got pneumatic valves that's down in the filter gallery that are 1970 models, and they're giving them problems. One of those valves can go out, and it can shut the plant down."
"These valves we're talking about are $60,000 apiece," HWWSB Wastewater Superintendent Drew Thrasher pointed out.
Also contributing to rising expenses for UBCWA is a roughly 50 percent increase in the rates it is charged for water by the Bear Creek Development Authority (BCDA).
Effective in October, BCDA's rates increased to $.08 per 1,000 gallons from the rates it had been charging since 1972, which were $.05 per 1,000 gallons for the first 30 million gallons and $.04 for the second 30 million gallons, as previously reported in the Alabamian.
UBCWA's anticipated budget for Fiscal Year 2024 was $40,000, while it's anticipated budget for Fiscal Year 2025 had more than doubled to $81,000, according to the water rate study report.
Sunseri recommended that the HWWSB not proceed with its third of five annual three percent increases, established to keep up with general rising costs, but instead implement a six percent increase solely to cover the additional cost of purchasing water from UBCWA.
"The reason I'm saying that is we've got to remember, we've got 1,300 people that's using less than the minimum (amount of water that is billed)," Sunseri said. (Anyone with water service must pay for a minimum of 2,000 gallons of water a month.) "That's a third of our customers. If we go and increase it anymore than that (six percent), we're going to put another financial burden on them.
"Lane (Bates) and I have discussed this, and it's a difficult situation, but again, we've kept our finances good for all these years," he continued. "I just think if we go anymore than (six percent), it's going to create a hardship for people."
"We still have a lot of (the 3,950 meters we bill), more than I thought we did, on a minimum bill, and people are trying to stay in that minimum range," Bates said. "We'll have cost increases, and we were planning on going up three percent to offset those, and (instead), we'll just stick it out and start again next yet."
Sunseri assured the board members that HWWSB has funds set aside that can be used if necessary to cover increased costs. Bates said these included emergency money and money for future projects.
Blue Russell, the current representative of the Haleyville City Council serving on the HWWSB, made a motion to delay the scheduled three percent increase and instead raise water rates by six percent, Ralph Trallo seconded the motion, and all voted in favor of it.
Haleyville retail water customers will also see see a small increase in the sewer portion of the bill because the sewer rate is tied to the water rate. The cost for sewer service is set at 60 percent of a customer’s water use charge.

Lynn

At a special called meeting on Monday, Nov. 25, the Lynn Town Council passed an ordinance to raise water rates for both retail and wholesale customers by $.50 per 1,000 gallons.
That amount includes the 40 cent increase passed on from UBCWA by Haleyville and an additional $.10 for the Lynn Water Department's own increasing costs.
"We're going to have to pass it along, but we're also going to raise it on our end a little bit because our cost of pipe and fittings and all that has went up and we haven't had an increase (since 2022)," said Mayor Earl Gilbert.
Town Clerk Marcia Manasco pointed out that on a minimum 2,000-gallon bill, the increase would be $1.
Council Member Chris Little made the motion to pass the ordinance, Allen Barnett seconded it and all were in favor.
Lynn water customers will see the increased rates for the first time on their January bills.

Other towns

In Double Springs, Mayor Elmo Robinson said, "We raised our (rates) a while back when they raised their rates, and we're going to try to absorb this increase" without raising rates again.
While all of Lynn’s water comes from HWWSB, Double Springs purchases the majority of its water from Arley Water Works, according to the 2020 “Annual Drinking Water Quality Report” for Double Springs, which was published in the June 23, 2021, edition of the Alabamian.
A message inquiring about Bear Creek's plans regarding water rates was not returned by press time.