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PrintLast week the City Council heard details of a proposed $173 million overhaul to Columbia’s sewer system that could boost residential sewer rates by at least 6 percent each year when the plan takes effect.
The proposed project is divided into two parts: waste water treatment improvements and collection system upgrades. The original sewer master plan was completed in 1973 and has since undergone nine amendments and one complete update.
The updated plan could be on the ballot as soon as next year.
City Manager Bill Watkins said water conservation was not a consideration in the past. In the 1970s, he said, toilets used to flush two to three gallons of water, but now they flush roughly 1.6 gallons. There is less water but the same amount of sewage, and the system is not equipped to handle such a strong flow, Watkins said.
Watkins said it is too early to say when and how much sewer rates would increase because of the plan. Consultants who worked on the plan proposed a 6 percent increase in the first two years, followed by a 7 percent increase the next year. The next four years after that would see an 8 percent jump.
Public Works Director John Glascock said the projections are simply recommendations.
“We’re still looking at it,” Glascock said. “We want to make sure we can get that as low as we can.”
The waste water treatment plant can handle 20.6 million gallons of sewage per day. Watkins said the city’s wetlands, which are included in calculating the plant’s capacity, have “saved our bacon.” He said the plant itself needs to be updated to handle the increased sewage strength, which is now a significant issue.
Under the proposed plan, that capacity would increase to 33.2 million gallons per day. According to an overview of the plan distributed at the retreat, that portion of the plan alone would cost $54 million. Another portion of the waste water treatment improvement funds would repair the facility, which is located near Gillespie Bridge Road in west Columbia.
Improvements to the collection system, which takes the sewage from homes and businesses to the facility, would total $84 million. The bulk of that money would be spent on sewer extensions and improvements to replace defective sewer pipes. The remainder would be spent on additional pump stations and removing excess water that seeps into sewer pipes, which is called inflow and infiltration.
Watkins said the City Council initially warmed up to the idea.
“They had some good questions, and I think they understand the general thrust and the need for it,” he said. At a future work session, the council will take a more in-depth look at the issue, Watkins said.
Glascock said the city also needs to use some of the county’s sewer facilities to protect water quality in area streams.
“They have lagoons at some of the subdivisions in the city,” Glascock said. “The water just drains into the streams. We need to connect them to our sewer system, which goes through treatment facilities.”
The city helps fund sewer lines up to the 80-acre point of a development, based upon need and available funds. The new plan would update this program to create a consistent method for evaluating those requests.
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