Cost of Water in the Washington DC Metro Region

Water bills will be increasing. There is no true “cost” of water, the price charged for water, often does not reflect its value or true cost. WSSC commissioners have been holding a series of meetings open to the public about adopting a new rate structure. WSSC needs to raise rates and increase revenue even as water usage per person fall. WSSC is engaged in a decades long plan repair and restore their water and sewer distribution system. They are currently engaged in a 10 year program to replace over 2,000 miles of water pipe and similar amount or sewer pipes. WSSC needs to fund both ongoing operations and the billions of dollars in capital needed to rehabilitate, upgrade and replace water and wastewater infrastructure.

WSSC will also need to address their water quality. Since the beginning of August, people in the western area of Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) water system have noticed brown or yellow discolored water. Though, WSSC says that the water is safe to drink, they advise that the discolored water should not be used to wash laundry. WSSC says that excessive organic matter required them to make adjustments to their water treatment to hold a primary drinking water standard within EPA limits. This has continued for significantly longer than a month and shows no sign of abatement.

Last winter WSSC experienced discolored water reportedly caused by excessive road salt. No amount of explanation will make it all right that WSSC cannot consistently deliver water that is safe, clean, clear, and good tasting water twelve months a year. Nonetheless, to even approach that goal they need years of increasing water rates.

Recently, Fairfax Water announced its intention to raise their water rates next spring. There will be a public hearing on Thursday, December 14, 2017, on the proposed rate increase held at Fairfax Water’s main office at 8570 Executive Park Avenue in Fairfax. This rate increase is part of their ongoing program to ensure that the water infrastructure in Fairfax County is maintained. The proposed rate increase will go into effect April 1. 2018.

The need for infrastructure replacement is an issue that has caused significant service problems and rate increases in other parts of the Washington Metropolitan region. Fairfax Water Board of Directors have dedicated funding to infrastructure maintenance and replacement for many years, and has forecast future capital needs for replacing water mains in the system. In addition, Fairfax Water is planning for additional water storage within their system by developing the Vulcan Quarry as a reservoir.

As they do every time they propose to raise water rates, Fairfax Water performed a comparison of the water costs throughout the Washington Metropolitan region. This comparison is based on rates as of April 1, 2017 and on 18,000 gallons of residential water use for an established account over a three month period. As you can see below Even with this increase, Fairfax Water’s commodity rates will remain among the lowest in the Washington metropolitan region.

Once more, Manassas Park has the highest water rates in the region. Manassas Park is a small utility system with fewer than 5,000 customers. In addition, tucked into that overhead is debt service for the city’s Enterprise Fund. Manassas Park is responsible for paying City utility bonds, and also to make the annual principal and interest payments on the bonds sold to build the City Schools, Police Station, and Fire Station & Community Center. While diverting water funds to other city needs, Manassas Park failed to properly maintain their water distribution system. Manassas Park distribution system’s water loss is around 25%, of the water purchased.