PSA - Water Rates Increased 8.75% 1/1/19

The Sound Guy

Pursuit Driver
Been getting that feeling that your water bill has been getting higher no matter how much water you try to save?

It's not your imagination. My bill this month said new rates were in affect, so I had a look.

Turns out that per the Paulding BOC Resolution No 16-06 from February 2016, Water rates will go up another 4.75% this year (on top of the 4% increase from the Cobb Water Authority who we purchase our water from until Richmond Creek Reservoir and Treatment Plant goes on line) and the base residential rate will go up from $6.00 to $7.00.

Two more increases are planned for 2020 and 2021.

From 2017 to 2021, the total increase in the water rates is planned to be ~ 52% and the base rate will go up 25% as well.

These increases are to assist the water dept to pay towards the loans/bonds taken out to pay for the RCR development and the pipelines from the River to RCR and from the treatment plant down US61 to the rest of the county.

Hopefully once the RCR plant goes on line and we can stop buying from Cobb, we can use the savings from paying Cobbs overhead to reduce the rates back a bit.
 
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Glad I'm on septic tank

You and me both. The water increases are bad enough, add the typical Sewer increases on there too and WOW.

My water bills of 3 years ago were in the $50 range. Now they are $75 a month and by 2021, will be close to $100 a month.

Wonder how much having a well dug costs?
 
You and me both. The water increases are bad enough, add the typical Sewer increases on there too and WOW.

My water bills of 3 years ago were in the $50 range. Now they are $75 a month and by 2021, will be close to $100 a month.

Wonder how much having a well dug costs?
We've actually thought about that a few times, but it was always during drought times and of course they wanted big bucks.

There are downsides with wells too, though. You should test the water now and then, you usually need filtration and possible softeners, and they have their limits as capacity goes. Everyone on my street except me is on a well because there's no city water. My water line goes through the side yard to an adjacent street is the only reason I have city water. My only close neighbor (acreage) put in an above ground pool and couldn't fill it from his well due to lack of flow. He bought 500' of water hose and filled from my line and paid me for the usage.
 
My new home is on Gwinnett Cty water, and septic. I noticed a few weeks ago... that the street going back to my driveway... the man-hole covers quit about 7-8 houses before my driveway... so lots of folks back here are on septic.

My water bill at the old house (water and sewer) was in the $40-45 range (no yard watering). My new house is in the $55-60 range (adding some water to the pool regularly). I had a year round creek around the back/side of the property... probably am gonna set up an elec pump and use that water to take care of vegetation (other than in the greenhouse and around the pool area). No reason I can see... to pay for city water to water the plants.

Oh yeah... Gwinnett raised our rates Jan 1, 2019... and I suspect we will get a notice in Dec saying they will go up again next year.
The good thing... Gwinnett has some hi tech and high end water filtration and safety stuff... they rate pretty high in the state for best water...
So I guess I am more or less getting my $$$'s worth.
 
Listening to it pour this morning and thinking about how wet a year it's been; I can't help but wonder how fun our reservoir we were supposed to have already had would be right now.

But hey...we have an airport and a movie studio!
 
Listening to it pour this morning and thinking about how wet a year it's been; I can't help but wonder how fun our reservoir we were supposed to have already had would be right now.

But hey...we have an airport and a movie studio!

Yea, I was thinking about it the other day that if the dam was ready we wouldn't even need the pipe to the river to fill the lake with all this rain.
 
Yea, I was thinking about it the other day that if the dam was ready we wouldn't even need the pipe to the river to fill the lake with all this rain.
You can thank good ol' schyster Jerry Shearin for never returning the paperwork to keep the wheels going forward to get approval for the dam back in the early 2000's... he brokered the ill fated airport deal and put incompetent Blake Swafford in charge of developing it. Remember Blake was the idiot who did not put potable water lines in, so the terminal was not approved to open because people could get sick from the only water they had from the stinky field lines. He also did not know an airport needs a fuel tank/ fuel station to re-fuel planes once they have landed, before they take off again...what a dolt. And Blake was in charge of the Studio as well...

Now Shearin is your GDOT Board representative... wonder what else he will fleece the county for?
 
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