Plum's combined water-sewer bills increase about $14 per month

Monthly bills increased about $14 for Plum residents with municipal water and sewage service, starting in February.

Residents were informed about the 17% increase on their January bills.

It’s the latest bill to increase for borough residents. Council in December approved a nearly 40% increase in property taxes with the borough’s 2024 budget, and the school board is considering potential increases to fund the district’s 2024-25 budget and pay for a contemplated multi-million dollar building project.

The water and sewer rate hikes will fund to increased operating, maintenance and treatment costs, the municipal authority’s notice says.

“As everyone’s been experiencing, rates have gone up throughout the industry,” authority Manager Howard Theis said. “It’s unfortunate that we had to implement the increase, but it was necessary.”

The authority last increased rates in December 2020, he said.

“We’ve absorbed increases over the last three years. It was just something we had to do,” Theis said. “We continue to try to keep our rates as low as possible and impact our customers as little as possible.”

The authority bills in cubic feet. There are about 7½ gallons of water in 1 cubic foot.

Minimum bills cover up to 250 cubic feet, or 1,870 gallons.

According to the notice, the monthly minimum charge for water will increase about 12.5%, from $20 to $22.50. The monthly sewage charge will increase about 7.4%, from $34 to $36.50.

Higher increases are seen in charges for usage over the minimum amount.

The charge for water usage over the minimum increased about 38.5%, from $3.25 per 100 cubic feet to $4.50 per 100 cubic feet. The charge for sewage over the minimum increased 31%, from $4.20 per 100 cubic feet to $5.50 per 100 cubic feet.

The average customer using 600 cubic feet of water per month will see their combined water and sewer bill increase from $80.08 to $94, an increase of about 17.4%, the authority says.

Those using the minimum amount of water, or less, will see a 9.3% increase, from $54 to $59.

Those costs do not include the borough’s flood mitigation fee, which is $6 for apartments and $10 for houses and is collected on bills residents receive for water, sewer and sanitation.

Commercial accounts are also increasing depending on the size of their service line and volume of water used, the authority said.

The authority’s full rate schedule is available online at plumboroughma.com.