Sep 13, 2022
Go to most any street corner in downtown Williamsport and take a look inside the catch basin or inlet.
Many times, in doing so, one might see leaves or mucky debris covering the opening, or down a few feet, plant life springing up next to cups and trash and broken piping.
Fixing these and maintaining their operation are just one of the many tasks assigned to the Williamsport Sanitary Authority as the city of Williamsport has transferred ownership of the stormwater system last year.
It’s also a problem far larger than an authority truck coming by and scooping out the mess or replacing a small piece of broken section.
In fact, this is a multi-million dollar issue, one that will financially impact — very soon — every individual property owner in the city.
Much of the city stormwater system has reached the end of its useful life and is not functioning properly, which means many pipes, inlets, catch basins and conveyances that carry water to local streams and the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, authorities at Williamsport Sanitary Authority said ahead of Wednesday’s public meetings to explain a new series of charges that will be assessed to residential property owners and non-residential property management.
A 100-year issue
Now that the sanitary authority, which is tasked with maintaining and improving the system to assure proper function and to meet stringent regulations required by state and federal regulatory agencies, owns the system it has begun to make considerable repairs and plan for additional ones.
The sanitary authority is tasked with rehabilitating and operating a system, which is not functioning well, said Michael Miller, authority executive director along with Eric Smithgall, authority director of engineering.
Simply put, the authority “must” complete mandated projects to comply with state regulations, Miller said.
On the larger scale, it is an unfunded federal government mandate to clean the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
But an authority can’t legally levy a real estate tax, such as a city or municipal government can and does.
Instead, the authority has to rely on fees — such as those for water and sewer provision — that, for Williamsport property owners, arrives on a monthly basis.
A ‘reliable’ source of funds
For the implementation of the management and repair of the stormwater system to work properly, the authority needs a “reliable” source of funds.
While the authority does try to obtain various local, state and federal grants to reduce stormwater costs to customers, the authority is about to introduce what it believes is a “fair and equitable” rate structure.
Such a rate (charge) is needed to pay for repairs and improvements to the system, Miller said.
For customers in the city, the bill received from the water authority includes charges for water and/or wastewater service.
Beginning in October, city customers will see an additional charge for stormwater service for property in the city, Miller said.
This charge will be for two categories of property owners: Residential and non-residential, he said.
Residential property owners will be billed a flat rate of $10 per month, without exception and without any changes for the next five years, Miller said.
A residential property is defined as having less than three residential units on one tax parcel, such as a single-family home or duplex.
An apartment building with three or more units is considered a non-residential property for the purposes of stormwater billing.
Any non-residential properties will be billed based on the amount of impervious surface area on their land. A non-residential property is defined as a property that does not meet the definition of a residential one. Examples include but are not limited to: apartment buildings, commercial businesses, non-profit organizations and industrial properties.
Examples of the non-residential properties with the largest amount of impervious acreage include SEDA-Council of Governments Joint Rail Authority, Pennsylvania College of Technology, UPMC and Lycoming College.
The authority is able to charge non-profit organizations, which are some of the largest sources of impervious areas. While these organizations are exempt from property-tax, the stormwater charge collects an equitable portion of revenue from all sources of impervious areas — such as roof, parking lot etc.
In addition to the general operations and maintenance of the system, these funds will be used to replace about 1% per year of the stormwater infrastructure that is in disrepair, including mains, Smithgall said.
That will allow the authority to meet regulatory requirements of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, he said.
Customers who will be impacted can attend a public meeting hosted by the sanitary authority on Wednesday at the Trade and Transit Centre II, 100 W. Third St. on the third floor. The meeting for business, industry and non-profit customers is at 4 p.m. and the 7 p.m. meeting will be for the residents who will see a $10 additional charge on their water-sewer-stormwater bill per month. That equates to $120 a year for residential customers or $10 per month, authority personnel said.
Customers can also look at the authority website at www.wmwa-wsa.org/stormwater which will show an interactive map, to find each property, and frequently asked questions section.
It’s $10 flat fee per month for city residential customers, and that can be paid all at once per year or each month with the regular billing cycle.
This fee does not apply to customers living outside of the city, authority staff said.
Authority staff has meet regularly with several CEOs and managers of non-profits to alert them of the charge and the purpose of the fee, Miller said.
The authority also mailed an informational letter to every residential property and non-residential property in Williamsport, Miller said.
The $10 flat fee will be instituted for the next five years, he said.
The authority will begin to train sanitary workers on stormwater repair and have additional crew dedicated solely for the stormwater maintenance and operation.
Without these repairs, not only does the authority not meet the state and federal regulatory agency requirements but the city will continue to experience pooling of water on streets, sinkholes appearing on streets, flooding of home basements and many other issues associated with the backing up and polluting of the water drainage system.
Sanitary and stormwater personnel are used to televising the interior of the mains and will plan to buy additional equipment to complete the job. Much of the work done on a proactive basis will not impact traffic with major detours. That happens when the mains and stormwater systems are not maintained and replaced, Smithgall said.
“The authority has regulatory obligations,” Miller said. It is not unsympathetic to the customers in the city during these tough economic times, he added.
The authority has worked out a formula that it believes is fair and equitable to the residents and non-residents alike, he said.
Residents can do their part by not putting anything but clear water into the stormwater drainage systems. Pollutants such as grass clippings, which contain levels of nitrogen that add to the problem, and paint, oil, grease and other chemicals hurt the streams, river and bay watershed overall.
This is an operation and maintenance that not only begins to make needed repairs of dysfunctional stormwater systems in the city but will help protect the environment, improve the quality of the discharge, prevent floods and improve the quality of living throughout the city, he said.
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