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LISBON --The 1,100 county sewer customers in Liverpool and St. Clair townships will see their rates increase by $1.05 per thousand gallons following action taken Wednesday by Columbiana County commissioners.
Commissioners agreed to raise rates for its customers after East Liverpool increased what it charges the county for sending wastewater to the city's sewage treatment plant.
"We're just passing it on. We have no choice," said Chief Deputy County Sanitary Engineer Troy Graft, who recommend the rate increase.
The county contracts with East Liverpool to send sewage from its township customers to the city's treatment plant. The contract requires the county to pay a separate fee to cover East Liverpool's "actual treatment" costs, which was raised from $2.41 per thousand gallons to $2.61 in 2016.
Earlier this year East Liverpool increased the "actual treatment" rate again, this time to $3.75 per thousand gallons based on a clause in the contract that says once the city determines "actual treatment" costs exceed $2.70 it can charge a single fee of $3.75 for all wastewater sent by the county.
The county charges its customers $5.81 per thousand gallons, which includes the East Liverpool fee, with the rest covering the county's cost of maintaining and operating sewer lines and pump stations.
County customers will now pay $6.86, effective immediately. This means an average household using 4,500 gallons of water per month will pay an additional $4.72 a month.
Graft and his boss, county Engineer Bert Dawson, met in July with East Liverpool officials to learn what methodology is used by the city to determine actual treatment costs. "We're going to continue to explore our options to find out what that means," he said.
One option being considered by the county engineer's office is hiring an expert to review the contract and the provision defining "actual cost," with Graft describing the wording in the contract as "ambiguous."
Graft noted when East Liverpool raised rates in 2016, the engineer's office opted against passing it along to county customers. He said they were unable to do that with the 31 percent increase this year because it will cost the county an extra $60,000 per year.
East Liverpool's sewage treatment plant treats about 2.5 million gallons per day on average, with county customers accounting for 165,000 gallons.