More Great Barrington residents equals more septic sludge, which someone has to pay for | Southern Berkshires
The Great Barrington Select Board decided to increase rates by 30 percent for processing sewage sludge from private sewage treatment plants that is transported to the treatment plant.
GREAT BARRINGTON – More residents mean more sewage sludge, which means a septic tank price increase for residents.
The costs for processing sewage sludge from private sewage treatment plants to the sewage treatment plant will increase by 30 percent. The Great Barrington Select Board, whose members also serve as sewer commissioners, voted earlier this month to approve the septic tank fee increase from 0.11 cents per gallon to 2.143 cents per gallon effective November 1.
The tariff increase also subsidizes new equipment that is needed in the plant, debts from previous overhauls and costs related to increased wastewater treatment for residents here and in neighboring cities.
Sean VanDeusen, director of the public works department, asks the Select Board / Sewer Commission to raise sewage charges.
“We expect usage to continue to grow – there is a cost associated with making the partitions and the cost will continue to rise,” said Sean VanDeusen, director of the Department of Public Works. He said this was a way to get these users to participate fairly, and later said it would help reduce the costs for residents of the city’s sewer system.
The city will raise Septage processing rates by 30 percent to cover the cost of increased usage and to subsidize upgrades and debt.
VanDeusen also said there is good news: the wastewater treatment plant did not exceed nitrogen levels, which are detrimental to the ecosystem when discharged into the Housatonic River, and that this will save the city tens of millions of dollars in new equipment.
A new aeration tank for the facility is something the city cannot avoid, he added, noting that it will cost millions, but he’s not sure what the exact number is.
VanDeusen said the increase in sepage being transported to the facility was due to the influx of new and second homeowners during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Probably because people live in their homes all day and not just on weekends,” he said. “The freight forwarders are pretty busy.”
The carriers will pass these rate increases on to their customers, VanDeusen said, noting that the facility also processes septages for customers in nearby New York state and Connecticut.
The city generated $ 324,000 in carrier fees last year and expects to add an additional $ 95,000 due to the increase in users.
Comments are closed.