United Water Files For Monthly Surcharge

United Water New York filed a petition on Friday to raise residential bills by $4.96 per month for a four-person family starting August 1 if approved.  United Water is asking the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) for the surcharge to cover costs associated with the long term water supply project mandated by the PSC.

The proposed surcharge would go into effect on August 1 and would include projected costs through July 31. Based on current rates, the average annual bill would increase 8.08 percent or $59.54 from $736.71 yearly to $796.25 yearly as a result of the first surcharge.

In 2006, the PSC directed United Water to respond to Rockland's growing water needs and provide a drought tolerant source of supply and the utility proposed the Haverstraw Water Supply Project. The plant would treat and purify water from the Hudson River using a process that includes reverse osmosis.

United Water said its projected investment through the end of July is approximately $56.8 million, which includes $10.6 million in carrying costs.  The $56.8 million in desalination plant preconstruction development costs include the selection process, preliminary design, engineering, permitting, pilot plant testing and the extensive legal approval process.

In its statement, United Water stated the Haverstraw project will amount to half the cost of building a new reservoir or wastewater reuse facility and will cost less to operate but did not provide figures.

Under the terms of the 2010 rate order, United Water is permitted to file for a surcharge once significant construction begins on the project.

"We were set to meet our construction milestone in May," said Michael Pointing, vice president and general manager of United Water New York. "However, we were unable to do so because the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has not yet issued its Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), the prerequisite which would enable us to put a shovel in the ground.”

The 1,500 pages of the FEIS detail the project. More than 70 experts were consulted for it. In recent months, municipal governments, elected officials and community activists have asked the DEC to hold an issues conference to more closely examine potential costs, analysis conducted and alternatives.

Pointing said even with the surcharge, the cost of water would be reasonable.

“Even with the proposed surcharge, water will still cost about a penny a gallon,” he said. “For a family of four, that's about $2 a day, or the equivalent of a cup of coffee, to have about 264 gallons of purified water delivered to their home 24 hours a day seven days a week."

In the near future, United Water anticipates filing a rate case to recover routine capital investments and increased operating costs since its last rate increase in 2010.