June 27, 2014 (BALTIMORE, MD) Financial assistance on water and sewer bills for low-income Baltimore City residents will increase by 11 percent on July 1.

The additional financial assistance is designed to match the increased water and sewer rates, as the second step of a three-year water and sewer rate adjustment goes into effect with the beginning of the 2015 fiscal year in July. A third increase, also of 11 percent, will go into effect the following July.

DPW Director Rudolph S. Chow, P.E., stressed the importance of protecting many of the City’s poorest residents from increasing rates. “I made a commitment last year when we asked the Board of Estimates for this three-year rate schedule that we would avoid adding to the burden of those least able to find the money to pay the new rates,” he said. “Again, we are keeping our commitment.”

Residents who qualify for the Baltimore City Department of Public Works’ Low Income Senior Citizen Water Discount Program will see a 39 percent discount on their water and sewer rates on each quarterly bill. That is up from the current 35 percent, and up from 30 percent just a year before that.

Residents who qualify for the Low Income Water Assistance Program will see an annual credit of $161, up from the current $145. One year earlier the annual low-income credit was $125.

Both programs are limited to Baltimore City residents who get a water bill directly from the Department of Public Works (DPW). There are other restrictions, notably on household income. The DPW’s Customer Support and Services Division can explain the details. Residents may call 410-396-5398 for information or an application.

The new rates will increase a “typical” water and sewer bill for a family of four by about $20 per quarter, from $181 to $201.

The Board of Estimates adopted the three-year plan one year ago to help provide the revenue necessary to speed up the rebuilding of the City’s aging system of pipes, valves, meters, pumps, treatment plants and other hardware. The DPW is also improving its operational and customer service functions with proactive maintenance and better capital improvement planning.

Among the specific programs being funded with the additional revenue are:

• More aggressive inspections of restaurants in order to verify correct disposal of fats, oils and grease in order to help avoid sewer overflows;
• Accelerated replacement of water mains;
• More efficient, reliable, and accurate water meters, and an improved billing system;
• Replacing open-air reservoirs for finished water with secure tanks;
• Federally mandated sanitary sewer system upgrades;
• Proactive inspections of sewer laterals and water mains.