The Village of Germantown Hills has completed a comprehensive study of the Village’s sanitary sewer system. The primary goals of this study were to outline the objectives for meeting the future wastewater treatment and collection system needs of the Village, to develop a strategy for growth and development in terms of wastewater treatment, and to provide for proactive planning to accomplish necessary capital improvements and maintenance.
The Village’s current sanitary sewer system consists of over 15 miles of gravity sewer, over 4 miles of sanitary forcemain, over 2 miles of pressure sewer, 200 grinder pumps, 10 operational sanitary pump stations, and 2 wastewater treatment plants. One important outcome of the study is a financial strategy to fund the maintenance and equipment replacement needs of the existing sanitary sewer system in order to continue system reliability, the necessary capital improvement projects to address potential regulatory changes, and system expansion to accommodate future growth and development in the Village. As a result of the planning effort, the Village has decided to enact the following sewer rate adjustments over the next 5 years.
Basic User Charges: There shall be and there are hereby established minimum charges and basic user rates for the use of and for service supplied by the wastewater facilities of the village for the billing years 2022-2023 through 2026-27.
The following minimum charges per month shall be applied to all users, including those whose water consumption does not exceed one hundred (100) gallons per month:
| 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | |
| Flat charge per customer
per month |
$20.90 | $20.95 | $21.00 | $21.05 | $21.10 |
The following basic user rates per one hundred (100) gallons shall be applied to all users for water consumption in excess of one hundred (100) gallons per month:
| 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | |
| Usage rate per 100 gallons | $0.80 | $0.85 | $0.90 | $0.95 | $1.00 |
Debt Service Charges: The following debt service charges shall be applied per month to each user of the wastewater facilities of the village for the billing years 2022-23 through 2026-2027.
| 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | |
| Debt service charge per customer per month | $20.90 | $20.95 | $21.00 | $21.05 | $21.10 |
The above rate adjustments will be utilized to:
- Fund the Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 1 Improvements Project – The project consists of plant-wide improvements to address operational issues that have impacted plant performance during recent years and improvements to a major collection system pump station.
- Begin to develop a fund to make improvements to Plant No. 2 and to replace equipment that has exceeded its operational life.
The proposed rate adjustments attempt to address the known funding needs of the sanitary sewer system; however, unknown factors such as a major unexpected equipment failure or an unanticipated regulatory policy change could require the Village to further adjust these rates in the future.