Sewer Fees Going Up

MLGW bills customers for sewer fees on behalf of the city. From yesterday's Commercial Appeal...

A City Council committee today approved the Public Works division’s request to hike the city sewer fee for residential properties, currently one of the cheapest in the nation.

The Public Works and Transportation committee approved an ordinance hiking the fee for usage from an average of $7.20 per household, per month to an average of $8 per month.

Even with the bump, Memphis still has some of the lowest fees in the nation. The proposed ordinance places a cap of $18 per month on sewer fees.

In Nashville, households spend roughly $32.10 per month. The average fee per month, per household in Knoxville is $69.68. Households spend an average of $42.30 per month in Little Rock.

“We pride ourselves on having some of the cheapest rates not only in the state but across the country,” said Public Works director Dwan Gilliom.

The committee also hiked the fee that major industries must pay to offset costs associated with treating their sewage. The city said a study of 26 customers that pay this fee showed an average monthly increase of 6.8 percent.

The full council will have to approve the fee hikes, which will be used to fund repairs to the city’s aging sewer system, before they can be implemented.