As if Leesburg Town Council hasn’t been flooded with enough issues to start the new year, they may be adding another expense to pay a consultant to help further studies in the water rate debate.
During a work session Jan. 23, the Utility Rate Advisory Committee (URAC) presented material needed for the council to make what they say is a sound decision on whether to bring in outside help to make a new rate structure for Leesburg water customers.
The estimated cost to the town for a consultant is $80,000, according to Town Manager John Wells.
Water and sewer rates in Leesburg have long been a controversial subject. Initially constructed solely for residents of the town, Leesburg’s water utility now serves some citizens outside the town limits, as well. Recently these customers have had to pay up to a 100 percent rate differential for water services.
In November 2010, the Virginia Supreme Court ended a five-year court battle over the surcharge in favor of the town’s ability to set significantly higher prices.
Even after the court decision, Town Council kept the rate differential at 47 percent.
Delegate Joe May (R-33rd) and state Sen. Mark Herring (D-33rd) introduced legislation in the General Assembly to require the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors’ approval of proposed water rate increases, but the legislation died in committee.
URAC member Dan Connally presented council with the target problems the committee and town are facing, including the sewer rates and structure, high usage surcharges and fixed rates. The problem users are facing is being subject to high usage rates when exceeding 35 percent beyond the usage in the winter quarter – something URAC wishes to address with the help of a consultant.
Some fundamentals Connally presented were that there should be tiered rate structure and to find an alternative to the water and sewage fee. The fixed rate should represent the higher percentage of the revenue and have steady and planned rate increase, Connally said, and there should be a pre-programmed increase to be dispersed in both the fixed and usage rates.
Council member Katie Hammler brought up the idea of giving residents the option to use untreated water for landscaping their yards.
“The thing I keep coming back to is having a flat sewer cost. We’d look at introducing some sort of flat sewer rate. Anything we can do in a progressive way to give some kind of service for those who want to landscape their lawn for them to use untreated water,” Hammler said. “But, is there a way could we discuss this? How could we help lower the treated water costs for those customers who are using it to water their lawn and save the treated water for other customers. We’d have to think a little outside of the box.”
Vice Mayor Kevin Wright said providing unfiltered water would mean an entirely new infrastructure for the water system already in place.
“I think the challenge of anything like that would be the infrastructure. You’d need a separate set of pipes. If you think of the amount of people who want to water their lawns those trucks are something we would have to outsource,” Wright said.
Wright suggested using a tiered rate structure where water usage would be measured by meter size.
“As we look at the rates we need to look that they are fair and reasonable,” Wright said. “I’d love for winter quarter to go away and find some genius way to calculate it. But the outcomes I had no huge issues with.”
When Wells was questioned about the necessity for outside help, he said a consultant could help lessen the load.
“The level of detail involved in this I would not be comfortable doing that level of with over that amount of time,” Wells said. “Not that everybody isn’t capable but the end product needs to be done with some extra things that need to be done.”
Council decided a way to move forward would be to nominate a council member to his or her colleagues in the loop. Council decided that with newly appointed Council Member Terry Titus’ previous position with URAC, he would be an obvious choice for the job. Council voted 6-1 on Jan. 24 for Titus to fill the position as council liason to the committee.
“I think URAC felt that they want to participate with the consultant on a regular basis,” Titus said. “We recognize the defaults of this, the suggestions, and I think that’s where the consultant can help us with that. I think the committee is ready to go.”
Council is set to make a decision on hiring a consultant during a meeting Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m.
If Mr. Wells thinks the board is not capable od doing their job in the alloted time maybe they should quit and make room for some quick energitic decision makers.$80,000.00 sounds like a lot of extra things not some. What is some, 2 maybe 3? Do your job or get out of the way!
Why not apply the 80,000 to the water costs and figure it out yourself. How much could the increase be a dollar, 2 dollars, 5 dollars a month and you want to waste money on a consultant to tell you to raise the rates so your name isn’t the one pissed off water customers will think of. C’mon man govern like you got a pair! What extra things that cost 80 thousand?
Yes, let us watch the video. There you will see, Katie “What’s a Brain” Hammler in all her glory, acting, shall I dare say it, as dumb as they come. She really did say pipe the water there. Guess what, there is only one pipe, and that’s where the drinking water comes from. Why is it that when Rapberry Falls complaints about dirty water, the reason is to feel sorry for them. But here, I guess, Katie “Dumb” Hammler misunderstood, and thought dirty water was good for us.
Maybe the out of towners should use gray water for landscaping. With that said, why is it a Leesburg issue? If River Creek wants to pump water out of a storm water pond for landscaping, they can build it with their own money.
Using “gray” water for irrigation is occurring in the County as we speak - see Courtland Village and the golf course community down Rt. 15 (it’s changed names/developers). It’s a common practice in areas of the country (probably world) that have water availability issues. To re-use treated water that is already in a man-made conveyance system - instead of immediate discharge into a natural water body (creek, stream, river, ie, the Potomac where all of our treated wastewater ends up) as is the norm - for NON-POTABLE purposes like turf irrigation, is the most sensical financial option. Why pay to move, treat, and distribute potable water when its’ destination is your lawn and your lawn only?
As to the question of the “dirtiness” of the gray water - if it is treated correctly, like we’d hope our sewage treatment plants are doing, it’s quite clean, free of all but the most microscopic particles, and of no health hazard to kids or animals who may come in contact with the water once sprayed on grass.
The social stigma of using gray water, however, has precluded it, policy-wise, from being treated to higher levels which would actually render it potable. Also, in our affluent and, for the most part, water-rich country, and our ‘throw away’ society, we like to believe we use water just once, and then throw it away (down the drain). We tend to block out the reality of the water cycle, and that we drink and flush the same water over and over again, somewhere.
In the more arid locations on earth, 100% re-use of water is occurring (where there is energy and re$sources to actually accomplish it). Google Bio-dome for an experimental use of such technology. But it will become all the more real as we expand population and arid regions grow, and we are forced to engineer the heck out of one of the basic elements of life - water.
@Another Leesburg Taxpayer - “Brainstorming”?? You have got to be kidding. The issue is water rates, not trying to come up with a big government solution to help “out of towners” use untreated water for landscaping their yards. If the quote attributed to Katie Hammler by Laura Peters is correct then Katie’s high school dipolma needs to be taken back.
Regarding Katie Hammler, if you watch the video it’s not as bad as some people here are trying to make it sound. From what I can tell, all she wants is for the Town to look at other options for irrigation water, not highly treated drinking water. Obviously her comments were not intended to be adopted and acted upon that evening, she was simply brain storming. Again, if you watch the video, she’s just thinking out loud about exploring other options. As incorrectly reported by Laugh, she does not suggest that this untreated water go through our drinking water pipes. She specifically mentions the use of water trucks or other means. Alternative water sources are being used throughout the country for irrigation, this is not necessarily a bad idea, probably just not economically viable right now due to infrastructure costs.
Laugh, I actually appreciate your political commentary on a lot of these articles. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I laugh when reading a lot of your comments, although I rarely agree with you. However, your comments here are down right dishonest and misleading.
Hi,ALeesburgResident: Katie “what’s a brain” Hammler IS an idiot. Watch the video. She wanted the untreated water to go into the water pipes. AND, do you really want water full of “stuff” on your lawn, with your kids playing there, and your dog there, and you cutting the grass there, and all of you carrying that stuff into your house? Like, major disease stuff? If so, welcome to mutant land, at your house!
Either Laura Peters cannot write or Katie Hammler has been ordained an “idiot”:
Council member Katie Hammler brought up the idea of giving residents the option to use untreated water for landscaping their yards.
@Leesburg tax payer “As long as I am not subsidizing the water service for River Creek or (soon to be) Raspberry Falls, I am happy. “
Well thats easy at least. Only the town’s credit is used by the utility not tax dollars.
As long as I am not subsidizing the water service for River Creek or (soon to be) Raspberry Falls, I am happy.
The Leesburg tax payer should be benefiting, and we shouldn’t be surrendering to the demands of people who don’t pay taxes here. It isn’t my fault their developer didn’t plan ahead, or that they decided they didn’t want to become part of Leesburg.
Honestly, I am not sure how the in-town tax payer is really losing out right now. All I see is complaints from people in River Creek.
Not sure what Ms. Peters meant by “As if Leesburg Town Council hasn’t been flooded with enough issues to start the new year…” I get the fun with using the word “flooded”, but I’m just wondering what the “flood” of issues for the Town Council is? It can’t be the holiday displays as that is a County issue.
The effective out-of-town surcharge has been 47% since September 2009. This consultant is simply the next step in a process that had its origination in the fall of 2007 with the previous incarnation of the URAC. Once the Supreme Court case was settled, we could move forward on a tiered rate structure that has been sought by both in-town and out-of-town water users, and has the potential to be easier to understand, easier to administer, and fairer overall to almost everyone.
Laugh, you’ve been talking about Hammler being an airhead for ages now. I finally believe you. She obviously didn’t think before speaking.
But there’s more to be amazed about. Katie “What’s a Brain?” Hammer, wants to send to the citizens of Leesburg “untreated” water. That means, people, all the “stuff” that is in the rivers, including, yes, what cows like to drop, and what other towns above us, dump, and all else that “gets” into the water. That’s Katie “Could I be any more stupid” Hammler wants delivered to the citizens of Leesburg. And, just how does it get to us? In the same pipes that carry our drinking water? Gooooooooood Grief! At what point do the people in white jackets come to take Katie “I’m sick, not just dumb” Hammler away.
I can’t wait until Tom Dunn gets to vote on the sewer extension to Raspberry Falls as both a Loudoun County Planning Commissioner and a Leesburg Town Councilman.
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