Carlsborg Sewer Charges, Fees Not Conducive To Economic Growth

Carlsborg Sewer An Extraordinary Financial Burden.

On April 23, 2008 the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board (WWGMHB) determined the Carlsborg UGA invalid and non-compliant with the Growth Management Act (GMA) because it lacked sewer and police services. http://www.clallam.net/LandUse/Carlsborg_GMA.html

 

On June 4, 2012 the order of non-compliance and invalidity was lifted because Clallam County had come up with a $17 million dollar sewer plan for Carlsborg. http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20120604/NEWS/120609990/breaking-news-8212-carlsborg-uga-found-in-compliance-with-growth  

This sewer plan began a whole new series of questions and debates with the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), Department of Community Development (DCD), PUD and County Public Works over the cost of the system and what it will cost the citizens of Carlsborg.  We have been continually told by the county that “when we know the costs, you will know.”  Well, we still don’t really know the total cost of the sewer system or the costs to the citizens.  All we have are “assumptions, estimates, projections and approximations” from the Carlsborg Sewer Financial Plan by the FCS Group and Grey and Osborne hired by the county and nothing more, and their MATH is terrible, as I will show you later on.  http://www.clallam.net/PublicWorks/documents/FCS2-11-2014.pdf   Pages 12 and 18

 

We have been told by the county that 125 gallons of water per day (gpd) or 16.71 cubic feet per day (cfd) equals one Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) billed at $70 per month per household.   This figure was “estimated” based on billed residential water usage from the PUD at 5.08 hundred cubic feet (ccf) per month, using only the WINTER months from 2004 and 2005 and excluding the higher gpd water usage during the SUMMER months. Add the $26 dollar base rate and the $0.0866 charge per cubic foot of water consumed per household.  This doesn’t exactly add up, but play along with me and continue reading.

 I would not have known or found out about these facts had I not questioned Steve Gray, Deputy Director/Planning Manager, Clallam County Department of Community Development and Bob Martin, P. E., Clallam County Public Works Administrative Director in an e-mail on December 4, 2012 about the 400gpd water the average family of four in Washington State consumes according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/pubs/indoor.html .

 Bob made reference to Carlsborg Urban Growth Area, SEWER FACILITIES PLAN, JUNE, 2012 http://www.clallampud.net/uploadedFiles/Water/documents/Revised%20Final%20Facil%20Plan%208%20June%202012.pdf  TABLES 3-5, 3-6 and the Carlsborg Sewer Financial Plan, February, 2014, http://www.clallam.net/PublicWorks/documents/FCS2-11-2014.pdf   in his e-mail response to the question I had asked.

Brian:

Just to clarify, your arithmetic below is fine, but the typical household in Carlsborg does not consume 400gpd.  The winter month average of 125gpd/residential customer was derived from actual metered water billings for winter months over a consecutive two year period (as shown in the attached excerpt from the June 2012 facility plan.)

The rate structure proposed in the financial plan rewards water conservation.  Obviously if someone does use 400 gpd, or 3.2 times the average residential water usage in Carlsborg, they will (and should) have a significantly higher sewer (and water) bill, as you have shown, but this will clearly not be typical in Carlsborg.  

Bob Martin, P.E.
Clallam County Public Works
Administrative Director
(360) 417-2389
(360)417-2513 - FAX
bmartin@co.clallam.wa.us

So Bob is telling us that Carlsborg residents use 37% less water per person than the EPA average, but then again they excluded 6 months per year from their average. 

 

To see the entire e-mail exchange with Bob Martin visit, http://digginforfacts.blogspot.com/2014/12/lets-talk-equivilent-residential-units.html

THIS IS WHERE THEIR “TERRIBLE MATH” COMES IN.

Broken down, 1ccf (hundred cubic foot) equals 748 gallons of water. 1 cubic foot of water equals 7.48 gallons of water and the county states Carlsborg consumed 5.08ccf or 500cu ft or 3,800 gallons of water per month winter average. http://www.clallam.net/PublicWorks/documents/FCS2-11-2014.pdf   Pages 12 and 18

The County’s math works like this: (Bob’s figures are in “quotes”)

“1 ERU is 125gpd” or 16.71 cubic feet per day x “actual consumption x $0.0866 per cubic foot of water used” = $1.45 per day x 30 days = $43.41 per month + “$26.00 per month base charge” = $69.41 rounded up to $70 per month?  THEIR MATH IS WRONG!  Remember 5.08ccf? 5.08ccfx748=3,800gal.

It should look like this.  5.08ccfx748=3,800gal, 3,800/30days=127 gallons per day.  NOT 125 gallons per day.

127/7.48=16.97 cubic feet of water.  16.97x$0.0866=$1.47 per day.  $1.47x30days=$44.11+$26.00base rate=$70.00 per month per ERU.  I know 2 gallons of water more or less may seem trivial; however, this 

is just one example of the county’s mathematical failures.  One should expect accurate figures from Clallam County, FCS Group and Grey and Osborne, Inc.

Since this e-mail exchange, I asked Clallam County PUD on December 8, 2014, for the total number of residential and commercial accounts in the Carlsborg UGA and the total gallons billed for both groups in 2014 year to date (11 months), just to see what actual water consumption is.  There was 751,986 cubic feet of water billed to 99 residential accounts and 1,317,560 cubic feet of water billed to 62 commercial accounts over the 11 month period 1/14/14 – 11/14/14.

Using current PUD totals, not the low six month winter average and using the county’s math it equates to 23cuft or 172gpd (1.4 ERUs) and $86.00 per month in sewer fees per residential connection, not the $70 per month that the county continues to tell everyone. This is only the monthly user fee which does not include connection, plumbing or abatement costs and is only the beginning of the county’s mathematical gymnastics.

Commercial account holders should be aware that their connection costs and monthly fees will be per ERU based on the (gpd) water they consume divided by 125gpd to assign the number of ERUs to each account.  Using the totals I received from the PUD and the county’s math, commercial fees and connection charges could be four times the residential charges and fees.   

 

64.4cu ft. or 482gpd (4 ERUs) and $193.31x4 ERUs = $773.41 per month in possible user fees per commercial connection due to the additional water use or the county may simply apply the “estimated” $70 per month per ERU which could be $70 x 4 = $280 per month per commercial account, or the $86.00 per month based on the most current 2014 water usage which could be $86x4=$344.00 per month. The connection charge per ERU is $7,640.00 x 4 ERUs = $30,560.00. 

The county has stated that they are willing to waive all but $500.00 of the connection charges if you connect “sooner rather than later” “within the first two years”.  That could make the connection charge$2,000.00 per commercial account,   this does not include any additional plumbing costs for side sewer and abatement of on-site septic systems.  Then one must ask what about operations and maintenance costs?  The county simply states they will subsidize them for 3 years, at county taxpayer expense. Oh goodie, now the entire county can pay for the Carlsborg sewer. 

  

We simply don’t know how the county will apply this based on their “when we know, you will know” responses every time we ask “how much will these cost us (and the taxpayers)?”  http://www.clallam.net/PublicWorks/documents/FCS2-11-2014.pdf  Pages 16 and 18.

This is the same method Mason County uses based on 135gpd per ERU to assess Belfair Maytag Laundry $66,000 in connection costs and $2,156 in monthly fees, while other business in Belfair are assessed more than $70,000 in connection charges and are looking to move their businesses to Silverdale.  Coupled with slower than expected growth of 1% or less resulting in too few connections, the increase in monthly fees from $98 per month to $242 and expected to hit $300 in 2015 is why the Belfair sewer system is failing, in the red and in danger of being sued. http://smc.stparchive.com/Archive/SMC/SMC07142011p07.php

The Carlsborg Sewer System is not conducive to economic growth and will ruin Clallam County and Carlsborg for these very same reasons.  The population of the Carlsborg CDP was 995 according to the 2010 U. S. Census and according to the Carlsborg Sewer Financial Plan the 2013 population of Carlsborg is 856 that is a loss of 139 people or a 14% decrease in the population of Carlsborg in 3 years or 4.7% per year decrease in population. Not good growth wise, people are leaving.

 

There are 547 housing units in the Carlsborg CDP according to the 2010 Census of which 334 are in mobile home parks and exempt from the sewer that leaves a total of 213 housing units available for potential connection to the sewer add in the 62 commercial businesses and that leaves a total of 275 potential connections in the entire Carlsborg area of which a combination of 49 residential and commercial structures are for sale, 2 are in foreclosure and 0 (zero) are for rent.  

 It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this sewer will create an extraordinary financial burden on Carlsborg and the county as a whole and it is not conducive to economic or population growth.

 

Clallam County, Going for broke.