LEONARD GRAY

HAHNVILLE – The crunch is coming to St. Charles Parish residents, as water and sewer rates are poised to rise to new heights. The sewer system user rate will climb from the current $3.24 to $5.06 per 1,000 gallons for residential customers, should the parish council approve the new rate at their May 21 meeting. This bumps to $5.13 on Jan. 1, $5.19 on Jan. 1, 2003 and $5.31 on Jan. 1, 2004. This comes in the wake of the April 7 election, where a proposed sales tax designed to offset this proposed sewer rate hike failed. The actual rates to be charged are 80 percent of the above figures, calculated on a percentage of infiltration by groundwater into the sewer lines headed for the treatment plants. The average household uses 7,000 gallons per month, Accardo said. “We need this fee schedule increase so we can address our capital needs,” added finance director Lorrie Toups. The water rate will likewise climb, upon council approval, to double the present rate from two to four dollars per 1,000 gallons. If approved at the May 21 meeting, it would go into effect five days later. Other related waterworks fees will also climb, including installation charges, meter deposits and shutoff fees. In the case of the sewer system, the rate hike is aimed at generating money for capital improvements to the system. The $41 million financing approved by voters paid for the two new regional treatment plants, 40 miles of new lines and a few lift stations. However, as Sammy Accardo, assistant director of the wastewater department, pointed out, “Our system is in deplorable condition. It is seriously deteriorating.” A top priority will be bringing the Luling Oxidation Pond up to standard, Accardo said. The pond handles the wastewater treatment for 11,680 of the parish’s West Bank population, or 20 percent. Meanwhile, Accardo said he was proud of the job the department is doing, having addressed and corrected 394 complaints. The biggest problem, he continued, was people pouring waste cooking oil and grease into the sink, which clogs the system. In the case of the waterworks system, the current rate schedule has not been increased in several years. Gulf South Engineers Inc. concluded in a rate study that the fees as now collected do not cover expenses.