FORT WRIGHT, Ky. – During their annual meeting today at Sanitation District No. 1 (SD1), the judges executive of Boone, Campbell and Kenton Counties voted unanimously to approve the SD1 fiscal year 2023 budget. As part of the budget approval, SD1 will move forward with the fourth year of its residential sanitary sewer rate realignment.
The rate structure was developed in 2019 to align sewer rates more closely with the actual cost of providing service and reduce the impact of declining water consumption on SD1 revenues. In accordance with the plan, SD1 charges a base rate for the first 2 hundred cubic feet (HCF) of wastewater treated and a variable rate for each additional HCF of wastewater treated. Under the four-year plan, as the base rate increases, the variable rate decreases.
When the new rates take effect on July 1, the base rate will increase from $23 to $26 per month and the environmental surcharge, which helps fund SD1’s Clean H2O40 sewer overflow mitigation program, will increase from $7 per month to $8 per month. To offset the increase in these fixed rates, the variable rate will decrease from $5.24 to $4.72 per HCF. The rate adjustments are anticipated to result in a five percent revenue increase needed to fund the obligations of SD1’s long-term capital program.
Depending on the total volume of water used, individual sanitary sewer customers may see their bills increase or decrease, while all monthly residential storm water customer bills will remain unchanged at $4.54 per household.
“Considering the inflationary pressures that our customers are facing in all areas of their lives, it is important that SD1 does not compound the problem by deviating from our original four-year rate plan,” said Executive Director Adam Chaney. “SD1 is feeling the effects of inflation on our operating costs like everyone else, but our staff continues to do an exceptional job of continuously improving processes and maximizing efficiencies to reduce the burden.”
Earlier this month the SD1 Board of Directors also voted unanimously in favor of the proposed fiscal year 2023 SD1 budget by recommending it to the three county judges executive for approval.
About SD1 - SD1 is responsible for the collection and treatment of northern Kentucky’s wastewater and also serves as the regional storm water management agency. SD1 is the second largest public sewer utility in Kentucky, serving more than 339,795 residents throughout Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties. SD1 maintains approximately 1,685 miles of sanitary-sewer system pipeline, 122 wastewater pumping stations, 15 flood pump stations, six package treatment plants, three major wastewater treatment plants, 433 miles of storm-sewer system and 32,300 storm-sewer structures.