WARWICK – Sewer bills in many places in the Greater Providence area will increase slightly starting Jan. 1 after state regulators approved a package of rate hikes this week for the Narragansett Bay Commission.
The annual sewer charges for a typical household will increase by $14 to $491 from $477, divided into monthly bills. The new rates will stay in effect indefinitely to help pay down debt from the commission’s ongoing Combined Sewer Overflow project, Narragansett Bay Commission spokeswoman Jamie Samons said Friday.
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The commission’s larger sewer customers, such as commercial and industrial properties, pay significantly more for sewer service, so their bills also will increase significantly more, she said.
Dubbed “the biggest project you’ll never see,” the three-phase Combined Sewer Overflow – with a current estimated cost near $1.4 billion – involves boring a 3-mile tunnel through the Providence area, much of it through bedrock about 250 feet or more underground.
The tunnel catches untreated wastewater overflows to minimize the amount that spills over into Narragansett Bay. Samons said the completed phases of the project already are preventing billions of gallons of wastewater per year from reaching the bay before it can be treated.
Undertaken to comply with the federal Clean Water Act, the project started in 2001. The first phase was completed in 2008. The second phase was completed in 2014. The final phase is in the design stage.
About 80,000 ratepayers – homes, businesses, and industrial facilities – are impacted by the rate increases. The commission’s service area covers Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls, Lincoln, Johnston, North Providence, Cumberland, and small parts of East Providence, Smithfield, and Cranston.
The rate hikes will raise monthly sewer bills by about 3 percent. The package includes an increase in the commission’s water usage fee, and increased separate flat fees for customers of various types and sizes.
The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission approved the increases as requested by the Narragansett Bay Commission. Samons said ratepayers have been notified.
Scott Blake is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Blake@PBN.com
