AUBURN – Sewer bills hitting mailboxes in mid-April will be about $6.83 higher for average users.
Increased sewer rates begin April 1, according to Superintendent Norm Lamie. The increase is part of the Auburn Sewer District’s budget approved in December, which calls for $318,000 in new spending.
Most of the costs derive from Auburn paying a greater share of costs at the Lewiston-Auburn Water Pollution Control Authority. Lewiston recently completed a massive combined sewer project downtown that diverted thousands of gallons of storm water away from the treatment plant. That allowed Lewiston to pay a reduced share in 2006.
“Between the city and the sewer district, Auburn is spending about $1 million per year to do the same thing,” Lamie said. “Lewiston saw the benefits all at once, but we’ll see it more incrementally.”
The district last increased sewer rates in 2003. The new rate increases sewer charges from $1.76 for 100 cubic feet of water to $1.92, about 16 cents. For an average sized family, using about 16,000 gallons every 90 days, that would increase sewer bills from $75.88 to $82.71.
Meanwhile, water rates should stay the same in 2006. The Water District last increased its rates by 8 percent in June 2005.
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