WESTBROOK — Owners of homes and businesses tied into the public sewer system can expect to see a 40-cent increase on sewer rates in 2019 and a few more increases to follow.

This would be the first sewer rate increase since 2013, but if it gets final City Council approval Dec. 17 it will also be the first of increases over the next four years as the city and Portland Water District prepare for an upcoming upgrade to the city’s wastewater treatment plant’s aeration system. The project is expected to cost $10 million to $12 million.

The City Council Monday unanimously gave preliminary approval to the 2019 wastewater division budget of $2.1 million, the Portland Water District payment of $2.5 million, wastewater assessment of $4.6 million and sewer user rates of $6.53 per hundred cubic feet.

“If not effectively managed, (the treatment center upgrade) is projected to raise the current sewer use rate by $2.28. The approach that has been developed and recommended by the administration and the Westbrook Sewer Commission proposes to increase the rate by 40 cents over the next four years,” City Administrator Jerre Bryant said in a memo to councilors. The Westbrook Sewer Commission approved the sewer user rates on Nov. 30.

“I am slightly concerned about the sewer user rate increase given the recent tax increase our residents had to bear,” said Councilor Mike Foley, referencing the 5.5 percent tax rate increase passed this spring to support the current fiscal year budget.

Director of Engineering and Public Service Eric Dudley said the current monthly bill for a home with three to four occupants that uses 7,500 gallons of water a month is $70.30. The 2019 increase would raise it by $4. A home that uses closer to 2,200 gallons (more typical of a smaller household) would increase by $1.20 per month.

The Westbrook Water Pollution Control Facility on Park Road is 40 years old and “some of its major components” have reached their useful life, Bryant told the American Journal. The updated technology, he said, will make it more efficient. Portland Water District operates the facility, as well as eight miles of sewer trunk lines, a siphon under the Presumpscot River and three pump stations. 

Because the 2019 user fee of $6.53 will raise more money than is needed this year and future increases will do the same for future years, a rate stabilization fund will be created until the money is needed. 

While he is concerned about the user rate increasing, Foley said he appreciates the effort to “save for our improvements rather than completely borrow.”

“Long term, I think the city should do that more instead of borrowing in many of our capital improvement areas,” he said, adding he hopes the city will use the resources it has wisely “to get the biggest bang for our buck in serving the sewer user.”

Michael Kelley can be reached at 780-9106 or [email protected] or on Twitter @mkelleynews

The sewer user rate in Westbrook is expected to increase by .40 cents in 2019 to help raise some advance capital for a major $10 million to $12 million upgrade to Portland Water District’s wastewater treatment plant on Park Road.