If they already haven’t realized it, households and businesses in Greater Providence are paying much of the cost of keeping Narragansett Bay clean.
To comply with the federal Clean Water Act, the Narragansett Bay Commission started the Combined Sewer Overflow project in 2001. Since then, sewer bills for a typical household in the commission’s service area have escalated from about $135 a year to nearly $500 a year, starting Jan 1. The bills for larger businesses and other properties that use more water have gone up commensurately.
The biggest increases appear to be over. As currently projected, sewer bills are expected to peak at about $600-plus a year for a typical household in 2025. But those numbers may end up somewhat higher, as they have not been adjusted for inflation, said commission spokeswoman Jamie Samons. Ratepayers will be paying down the debt from financing the CSO – done through the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank – until about 2041.
The commission serves about 80,000 homes and businesses.
Samons said the commission has received its share of complaints about the rising rates. But most people are understanding about the need to protect the bay from overflows of untreated wastewater.
“If you look back to the ’70s or ’80s, the bay was filthy,” she added. “Think of what goes down a toilet and what could be floating in the water.”
The CSO has involved drilling a 3-mile tunnel, much of it through bedrock, to capture wastewater overflows.
The first CSO phase cost about $370 million and the second phase cost about $250 million. The final phase – extending the tunnel under Pawtucket and Central Falls – is supposed to be the most expensive, with an estimated cost of $765 million and a tentative completion date of 2038.
Despite the costs, the commission’s sewer bills are still “middle of the pack” when compared with such bills elsewhere in Rhode Island and around the nation, according to the commission.
The conundrum has been creating a more functional wastewater system that meets modern capacity and environmental needs, while spreading out and minimizing the cost to ratepayers. Some rate relief may be on the way. The commission plans to bid for a $251 million federal loan – or at least a chunk of the money. The low interest-rate loan could be used to offset some CSO costs.
At least the extra money ratepayers have been paying is making a difference. According to the commission, the tunnel already has decreased untreated overflows into the bay by billions of gallons a year. Now with cleaner waters, Samons said, the bay’s north end is generally safe for fishing and the state plans to allow beaches for swimming in East Providence.
“While ratepayers are never happy to see rates increase, Rhode Islanders overwhelmingly support infrastructure that protects Narragansett Bay,” Samons said.
Scott Blake is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Blake@PBN.com.
