Pierce County ratepayers will see their sewer bills go up next month. Here’s how much
Sewer bills will rise nearly $2 each month for residential Pierce County ratepayers beginning Jan. 1 when the cost for sewer service increases 3 percent to help cover maintenance, regulatory needs and growing demand.
An estimated 320,000 people in the unincorporated county and in some nearby cities receive sewer service from the county’s Planning and Public Works Department via roughly 71,000 residential and commercial accounts. The vast majority of customers fall within the Chambers Creek service area.
For single-family residential customers in the Chambers Creek service area, monthly bills will increase to $59.06 from $57.34 paid this year, according to the county. Multi-family customers will pay $51.59 per unit, compared to their $50.09 bill in 2022.
Within the much smaller Cascadia service area in Tehaleh, the monthly cost for single-family residential customers will increase to $65.17 from $63.27 in 2022, the county said. Monthly bills for multi-family customers will be bumped to $57.39 from $55.72 paid this year.
The rate uptick also will apply to commercial customers, who pay for basic service and varying commercial volume.
“A rate adjustment is necessary to support the operation and reliability of the public sewer system in the service area,” the county said in a statement Wednesday.
Beyond funding preventative maintenance and new demand spurred by growth, rates cover operational costs for regulatory compliance permits through the Washington State Department of Ecology, according to the county.
The 3 percent increase is expected to produce $9.7 million in new revenue, an August 2021 utility rate study showed. The sewer utility currently maintains a two-year, $155.6 million operating budget and $74.6 million capital budget.
The rate hike was authorized by the Pierce County Council in November 2021 as part of the 2022-23 biennial spending plan. County lawmakers similarly approved rate hikes during the previous biennial budget.
Despite recent increases, the county’s residential sewer rates were among the lowest in Western Washington, according to a 2021 rate comparison.
Next month, county lawmakers are expected to review sewer-connection charges, with those new rates planned to take effect on Feb. 1, the county said.
