Sewer Rates
 

Curious Has anyone a good understand why the sewer rates seem to be expensive . Yes I know there is a cost to make sewerage waste clean for discharge. My understand ( correct me if I'm wrong ) when sewerage is cleaned it goes into retention ponds gets used then for those who irrigate their lawn, in one way or the other we pay a cost in our irrigation bill and amenity bill for the golf courses and public spaces . I know in my primary home up north the waste by product from the sewerage plant is sold as bulk fertilizer .To me it seem someone is making money on that non potable water

I am currently on the NSCUDD board that handles the water systems from 466 down to 44. You can view our budget at the following link -> VCDD Office of Management and Budget

And are most welcome to attend any of our board meetings held at SeaBreeze Rec Center in the Villages. Our April 11th meeting at 3PM will be listed here in a few days -> VCDD Meetings/Agendas

Budget meetings will start in May to cover any and all items in detail. The public is also invited to these budget meetings.

I and a few others on the board ask many questions to try to keep yours and our cost as low as we can. Please come to a meeting to say hi and ask questions to be better informed.

Rick Rademacher

This sewer rate thing is a timely thread, I was reviewing our utilities bills this morning. I can’t speak for sewer rates south of 466, but where we live north of 466 the sewer rates are designed to totally screw part time residents and subsidize full timers. Our sewer rates last November and December were $45.81 each month, broken down between $17.91 base rate and $27.90 use rate. Since we weren’t there for a single day either month, and our water was turned off, the only water used was for irrigation. The irrigation water is soaked up by our lawn and garden plants and doesn’t go into the sewer. Therefore, we were charged $45.81 each month for not putting a drop of water in the sewer. During January, February, and March, when we were at our home and used lots of water besides irrigation, our sewer base rate remained the same but our sewer use rate actually went down each month from when we weren’t there and our water was turned off. I have no problem with paying a base rate when not there, but being charged more when we are not there for not putting a drop of water in the sewer than when we are there using lots of water makes absolutely no sense. I will be making some phone calls tomorrow morning, hopefully I won’t be talking to deaf ears.

I have no idea where treated sewer water goes. I always thought the ponds were storm water for the most part.

Anyway sewer charges are always more than water charges. We have a base rate of $22 for sewer. We are very part time, 5-6 weeks a year. Our water/sewer bill is generally $45 but once in awhile it is $55. This included irrigation as we do not have a separate meter for that, just one meter for all water use.

The sewer water goes to a sewage treatment plant to be treated and recycled as potable water. I don't think it ends up in the ponds. Treating sewer water is a very complicated and expensive process. I don't think the sewer water cost in The Villages is expensive compared to other areas of the country. The irrigation and pond water system is a different and less complicated system from the potable water system.

They are not “designed” to screw part time residents. You choose to be here part time. Does the formula used for your rates back home change when you are here?

That’s why my water tastes so bad! :pray:

See the information on wastewater handling and storm water handling from the District Workshops.

It appears that wastewater (sewer water) is treated and then collected in ponds for use primarily on the golf courses. Storm water runoff is collected in separate ponds and for use primarily as lawn irrigation.

This has nothing to do with part time vs full time residents. In your location the irrigation water and potable water are not separated so therefore you pay sewer on irrigation water usage. Has to do more with how dry those months are than anything else.

Where did you get this information? I have never read "recycled as potable water".

I admit that is an oversimplified statement. I don't know the exact process used in The Villages, but all raw sewage from your sinks and toilets is piped to a sewage treatment plant, treated chemically, filtered, and eventually re-used somewhere. My main point was that sewer water from your house is handled differently from storm water. They are two separate water systems.

We have a well and septic system at our other home.

It has absolutely nothing to do with how dry the months are, the irrigation system is on a timer and we don’t have a rain sensor in our system. The irrigation runs the same amount every week regardless, every Sunday and Wednesday night starting at 2 A.M. Our irrigation water usage is always constant throughout the year, and I realize that north of 466 the irrigation uses potable water (which I like because I don’t have to worry about stray irrigation water going into our pool). My problem is that our bill shows much higher water usage, and associated sewer charges, when we are not there and our water is turned off (the irrigation is on a bypass from the valve that shuts off water from the house and hose bib). When we are there, the water to the house is obviously turned on and we use significantly more water, yet our bills indicate lower water usage and sewer charges. So when we aren’t there, the water is off, and we are using much less water and not putting anything in the sewer, yet our bills are higher? Reconcile that!

"The sewer water goes to a sewage treatment plant to be treated and recycled as potable water."

If you don't know.....why make such a statement?

My bad. The OP was complaining that the sewer rates are high. I was pointing out that water is water and it all gets recycled eventually. However, it is a lot more complcated and expensive to process raw sewage water than to process irrigation/storm water. That is why sewer rates are high. Any water can be converted into potable water, but that is also an expensive process. The sewer rates in The Villages are based on the amount of potable water used, and it is more expensive than the irrigation water used. Some people don't realize that the potable water used in the house travels through a different piping drainage system than the irrigation/storm water, and it must be processed at a sewage treatment plant. Although, in some older Villages sections, the only water piped to the house is potable water. Those people are paying a higher price to water their lawns because they need to use potable water and pay a sewer rate for it.

Sounds like you are getting screwed! It would also be a good idea to install a rain sensor because it is really silly to be paying to water the yard and paying sewer on that water when you don’t need to be watering at all. My irrigation stays off almost the whole Summer and here lately it definitely hasn’t been needed

Good advice on the rain sensor, especially since using unnecessary irrigation is very expensive. The water charge is minimal, but the sewer usage charge is outrageous, especially considering the water never goes into the sewer system. On another note, I spoke today with a representative of the utilities division and he went over my bills and agreed it does not make any sense. They are sending out someone to see what’s wrong with the meter.

Good deal. Hope you get a beneficial resolution

Be glad
 

That you have water to use in your house through a great system that recycles and reuses much of what we get from the sky and from the sewage. Be glad that the rates are as low as they are because they certainly can be much higher when you compare the places like California where you're not allowed to use wanted to fill pools in many years. Be glad that you can water your lawns and can take long showers and be glad that it's so low compared to many other cities in Florida as well. PS back North many cities simply have a higher tax on real estate and pay for the sewage facilities that way then actually tax your water usage which is really much fairer. You should however be asking the water authority here how much commercial properties pay for their usage and sewage compared to homeowners

No, the formula up north doesn’t change when we are here. That’s the price you pay when you have another home.

I’m making an amateur explanation here so here goes. I’m guessing our sewers were put in 20 yrs. ago or longer & maybe 20,000 residents, now with 120,000+ residents there’s probably 10 to 20 times more sewage & a lot more to process & more employees! As TV keeps growing your sewage bill will probably keep growing, maybe double. Just like garbage pickup, amenities, water, ect. ect. Anything that keeps getting bigger always cost somebody more money!

Don't all those new residents also pay sewer fees? And garbage pick up fees?

Why should it cost individuals more if more people are paying?

I guess it is a matter of prospective. They are cheap in comparison to where I come from.

Truly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My sewer rate here in western ny is a flat fee is charged in my town county tax bill. 2nd no matter how much drinking I use even filling the swimming pool ( easy 5000 to 10000 gal a season) my water usage does not go against my sewer bill like in The Villages. The point I am trying to make is you pay to get rid of it and for those who irrigate their lawns you are they them again to get that treated non potable water back. When they water the golf courses the public green spaces your paying for thru CDD fees. I know ones that have swimming pools are not happy that they have to pay for the water for their pool but then also have to pay the same usage on the sewer end even though that water never went into the sewer

Yepperooski

I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a separate (lower)rate for those that use lots of water (mostly commercial facilities). That would explain why your bill in the winter decreases even though you use a lot more water.

I hear what you’re saying but the bigger TV gets the longer & more sewage there is & the longer the employees have to work & I don’t think they’ll work longer hrs. for the same pay or TV have to hire more people & they have to be paid too so that higher sewage rates. Oh I understand what your saying about more residents so more money coming in so yes you would think more money would cover it. But you still have more sewage because there’s more residents. I agree with what your saying & I see your reasoning but it’s more work. Think about N.Y. with millions of people, why is it so expensive to live there, I don’t know how those poor people make ends meet! I think the same way if there’s more people you would think that would cover the extra expense!

Actually, the opposite is true. The more water you use, the higher the per gallon rate. Here is a link to the actual rates.

Utilities - Rate Information

Why do they charge more in NY?

Because people put up with it...

I think union wages has something to do with it.

If like most irrigation water runs off due to over watering and it flows into drain. So if you have water running down the street for half hour plus or more you are creating street drain run off.

There minimum charge using or not. Beings watering yard using water they don’t separate the charge. Water going out equals water going in.

If you have a separate irrigation meter, you are not charged a sewer fee for that water. You are only charged a sewer fee for the potable water used. The street drains are for storm water. They are not sanitary sewer drains.

At the NSCUDD meeting on Monday, we will be discussing this staff proposal.

"The Village Water Conservation Authority (VWCA) and the Sumter Water Conservation Authority (SWCA) are experiencing odor issues due to biofilm buildup on the mains in addition to clogged sprinkler systems due to snail outbreaks in specific areas. In order to mitigate water aesthetics and snail/mollusks infestation, an increase in free chlorine disinfection residuals in conjunction with areas of unidirectional high velocity flushing of the irrigation systems is recommended. The elevated chlorine is recommended to address odors and eradicate mollusks while the flushing is recommended to remove existing debris/biofilm in the pipes that cause high chlorine demand.

The development of a Unidirectional Flushing (UDF) Plan for both the VWCA and SWCA irrigation systems will identify the flushing zones, develop a Standard Operation Procedure plan (SOP) for the required valve closures and instructions for each area where UDF is conducted, electronic flushing distribution maps and a hardcopy of the maps. The cost estimate for VWCA is $69,375 with a not-to-exceed amount of $79,000. For SWCA, the cost estimate is $57,830, with a not-to-exceed amount of $60,000.

Due to a planned VWCA capital improvement project coming in under budget and the postponement of a SWCA project, funds are available in the current year for the development of Unidirectional Flushing (UDF) Plans. The implementation of the plans has been requested in the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Budget for the performance of the high velocity flushing of the irrigation systems."

more information is found here under online agenda-> VCDD Meetings/Agendas