Jeffersonville council approves sewer-rate increase

Clark County

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December 21, 2009

Rates to grow by about 200 percent by 2015

By DAVID A. MANN The News and Tribune Mon Dec 21, 2009, 11:53 PM EST

The city of Jeffersonville’s sewer rates are set to rise dramatically over the next five years as the City Council unanimously approved an ordinance that phases-in increases of about 200 percent.

The largest part of the increase will be felt immediately, as the average monthly bill is expected to jump from about $24 to about $50. Phase two of the increase will start in 2012, when average bills will rise to about $55; in 2013, they’ll go to about $60; in 2014, they’ll go to about $66; and in 2015, they will go to about $73.

The council approved the increase as a means of financing sewer-system repairs and expansion of service into newly annexed areas of the city. The increase also will cover the cost of a new sewer-treatment plant on the north end of the city, near the River Ridge Commerce Center.

Some of the sewer work is mandated under a legal agreement between the city and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The agency has been negotiating with the city over the last few years to correct problems with the system, including combined sewer overflows, which have washed diluted sewage into waterways, thus violating the U.S. Clean Water Act.

— Staff Writer David A. Mann