BALTIMORE, MD (July 3, 2013) – The Baltimore City Board of Estimates today approved a three-year program of water and sewer rate adjustments to ensure its citizens and customers have access to clean water and adequate sewer systems long into the future.

Tomorrow the rates will increase by 15 percent; upward adjustments of 11 percent will be applied in each of the following two years. The new rates will support state-of-the-art meter and billing systems, faster repair and replacement of aging infrastructure, and innovative management programs.

For a typical customer, using 170 gallons of water each day, quarterly bills would rise by about $23 in the first year. Baltimore water and sewer customers would still be paying rates at or below most comparable East Coast cities, as well as other Central Maryland jurisdictions, while getting drinking water of award-winning quality.

In his presentation to the Board, though, Water & Wastewater Bureau Chief Rudolph S. Chow, P.E., warned that “low-cost service has had a high cost in maintenance and operations.”

Water line failures result in more than 1,000 water main breaks each year; collapses in large mains lead to major emergencies such as those last year on Light Street and Charles Street; collapses in sewer lines lead to overflows into nearby streams. Most of the lines are more than 65 years old, and every year that passes without repair, Mr. Chow said, the costs of making the repairs get more expensive.

The Bureau of Water & Wastewater has made substantial strides in recent years, Mr. Chow said. A renewed emphasis on Customer Care is getting calls addressed in seconds instead of 20 minutes or more, with much better service. A new Asset Management Program allows for better monitoring and maintenance of the system’s infrastructure, creating greater effectiveness. The new automated meters, which will be installed over three years beginning in 2014, will allow for real-time monitoring by customers and more reliable billing.

Estimated bills have already become a memory. An emphasis over the past three years on getting all meters read has led to nine straight quarters of reading meters on time. That means there is no need for an estimated bill. A small portion of meters that remain inside properties are being moved outside.

With the new level of funding, the Bureau will build upon these improvements and also step up its water main replacement schedule from five miles a year to 20 miles each year (a step toward the goal of 40 miles), a fully funded sewer rehabilitation and replacement program, progress toward a new $500 million water treatment plant, and further progress toward complying with the unfunded mandates in the Consent Decree, which could cost $2 billion by the time it is finished.

Public Works Director Alfred H. Foxx said the time for action is now. “The Bureau is doing what it can with the resources it has,” he said. “But the work still to be done to ensure City customers continue to get water of award-winning quality and reliable service will require greater investment.”

Cities across the country are grappling with similar issues, said Foxx. The U.S. Conference of Mayors estimated that local governments spent a record $111 billion on water and wastewater operations, maintenance, and capital projects in 2010. And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says nearly $400 billion must be spent by 2030 to keep the country’s water systems operating properly.

The Department of Public Works will continue to offer water bill assistance to qualifying Senior and Low Income residents who need help. In fact, said Mr. Foxx, the rates at which it offers assistance will also rise – for first time since the program was launched – in order that recipients do not have to pay more as a result of the new rate. Citizens may call 311 or (410) 396-5398 for an application.