DeKalb County officials to hold town hall on proposed water and sewer rate hike

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County officials are holding a town meeting on Tuesday night to discuss their proposal to increase water and sewage rates.

The town hall begins at 6:30 p.m. at Shirley A. Trussell Building at 178 Sams Street in Decatur.

“This is an important discussion that affects all of us in DeKalb,” Commissioner Robert Patrick said. “Our residents and business owners deserve the latest information about how these proposed rate changes will impact the future of our infrastructure and our ability to maintain safe, efficient services.”

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The proposal rate increases are part of the county’s efforts to replace close to 2,000 miles of aging water pipes in DeKalb County.

County officials told Channel 2 Action News in May that the price to replace the nearly 2,000 miles of almost 70-year-old pipes would be about $4.4 billion, and to make it happen, they planned to introduce a roughly 6% increase in fees to bolster funding.

Current DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond pitched the fees to the county commission in July. He said if it’s approved, the rates would increase starting in January.

One major project, if the funding goes through, would be upgrading the Scott Candler Water Treatment Plant, which was originally built in 1942.

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• DeKalb officials present $4.4 billion plan to replace almost 2,000 miles of aging water pipes
• DeKalb CEO calls for water, sewer rate increases
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• DeKalb Co. postpones public meeting on sewage, water rate increases

To make the fees go into effect, though, commissioners have to hold public meetings to get residents’ feedback.

Here’s what officials have proposed:

• $250 million to address remnant portions of old plant, create redundant clearwells for a 60% increase in water storage, upgrade transfer pumps, upgrade controls and support remote operation and add a redundant primary power supply
• $650 million in spending over 25 years to increase transmission capacity through a 60-inch water main addition
• $135 million for a new water treatment plant going to Northlake Mall
• $76 million to replace remaining water mains from 1970 to 1972
• Spend $4.4 billion to replace 1,745 miles of water pipe that would be 70 years old by 2050

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