Find Out Why DeKalb’s Water Rates are Rising
Decatur Metro | November 8, 2010There’s been a good deal of chatter on the Oakhurst Message Board of late about higher-than-usual DeKalb water rates. The AJC wrote a piece on our surely escalating water rates to cover extensive repairs and improvements to the system, though it’s unclear whether these individual reports are a result of that or something else. (If you’re interested in how much rates are rising year-by-year, this County document (pdf) gives you a good idea of how rates will rise through 2011. Note that the more water you use, the higher the rate.)
Anyway, the County is holding meetings about these repairs and upgrades, tonight and tomorrow night.
DeKalb County Commissioner Kathie Gannon recently sent this announcement around…
County staff is currently assessing the water, sewer and infrastructure needs, and watershed experts have identified critical capital improvement projects that are needed over the next five years to ensure our water supply is adequate and safe for drinking, fire protection, our anticipated growth and development, and that the county is in full compliance with all state and federal regulations.
These meetings will provide an explanation of the repairs and upgrades needed in the water and sewer division, in order to preserve accessibility and maintain quality. Representatives from the DeKalb County Public Works/Infrastructure group will hold the following initial public meetings to discuss the upcoming infrastructure capital improvement projects (CIPs).
• Monday, November 8, at the Lou Walker Senior Center, 2538 Panola Road, Lithonia, Georgia from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, November 9, at the Maloof Auditorium, 1300 Commerce Drive, Decatur, Georgia from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Comcast subscribers will be able to view this meeting live on DCTV, channel 23. DCTV will also stream this meeting live on the County’s website at www.dekalbcountyga.gov/dctv
Latest from Decaturish
NIce….right after I have SOD installed.
Same here, LW. We had ours installed in May, and our water bills more than tripled. We knew they would go up, but were not expecting THAT kind of increase. I guess this explains it.
But damn, our yard looks so much nicer.
Ours tripled as well. Two trips to the H20 office, and it was surmised that the super increase may be due to the fact that our bills have been estimated the last three cycles (although my last bill didn’t state this, it was evident on the office’s computer screen), and an actual reading was taken this period, and it sort of “caught” us up. The clerk at the office said due to the number of early retirees, they are having to estimate more and more bills.
When we moved into our house, they had been estimating our water usage because our meter was about 6 inches under dirt. So one fine summer’s day I cleared it out, because I figured it was the right thing to do.
Oh man did that next bill suck!
My bill has been outrageous ever since they changed out my meter, it automatically more than doubled. It averages about $200. And I’m one person living alone with no new sod, no sprinklers, no outside watering. Please tell me this is not normal. I’ve called them several times and they give me some different reason every time, I don’t have the patience to stay on hold for several hours again. Anyone got a suggestion of what I can do?
Oh yeah, and I’ve already had the house checked for leaks twice.
I hate to say it but that might just be the current cost. My husband now yells at me if I daydream at all in the shower.
Wow, that sounds high to me. For a two-person household, and sod in the front and backyard (though we don’t water it as often as we should…), our bill is about $90. We have a high efficiency washing machine that we use about once a week, and a dishwasher that we use about once a week.
Just skimmed the messages on the Oakhurst message board. $1000 water bill is insane!
holy crap! 1000$ ??!