Article submitted by Jamie Fleury, The Pilot News Staff Writer
The Plymouth Common Council approved Ordinance No. 2022-2196 The Sewage Rate Ordinance of the City of Plymouth and Ordinance No. 2022-2197 The Water Rate Ordinance of the City of Plymouth on first read Monday, June 13.
In a follow up interview, Utility Superintendent of the City of Plymouth Donnie Davidson sympathized with residents as they are all facing increasing costs in other areas of their lives. There are three phases to the water increase and two phases to the wastewater increases. The silver lining is that the average resident will see an increase of approximately $5.97 total (based on 4,000 gallons of usage a month) for both utilities combined through all phases concluding in 2024.
Operational and maintenance costs are increasing for both utilities.
Necessary capital projects for the water treatment plant include painting the water tower, replacement of the water main, lead service line maintenance, and a well replacement.
Projects for the sewer department include compliance to a phosphorous removal mandated from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the solar project which has already been reduced in scope but will decrease future costs overall, compliance to a Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) reduction mandate, sewer and Lift Station replacements and upgrades, generators, force main project, boiler replacement project, and Closed Circuit TV equipment upgrades to continue to monitor, inspect and certify the sewers.
Davidson’s department is also working on an Asset Management Plan.
Losing DelMonte and Bay Valley in 2017 took a toll on the City of Plymouth with the loss of huge revenue sources when they left. “They generated a tremendous amount of revenue for the utilities.” An adjustment was made years ago according to optimistic projections.” Those adjustments brought the city this far, but with mandated capital improvement projects, the city must face the difficult decision to increase rates.
Davidson said that the city is starting to face challenges obtaining chlorine, a critical purifier of drinking water. “Water providers have been given priority but when you start running short we may not have chlorine for pools. We may not have chlorine for the production of plastics. Consequently when we need sewer pipe, that becomes in short demand.”
Delivery times used to be a week, now the wait can be up to six or eight months. By the time the product comes in, construction season might be over. “It become a real juggling match on where and when and how quickly. Contractors are in high demand because everybody needs them ‘now’. It’s just becoming very difficult.”
The City of Plymouth is still considerably lower than the statewide average.
