None of us wants to see an increase in our utility rates.
Looks like a cost hike is inevitable sometime around May from what was reported this week by Ben Sessoms, our new CityView government accountability reporter, who on Wednesday covered a Fayetteville Public Works Commission meeting at which the utility’s director of financial planning and capital projects said it is necessary because of inflation.
Seems like inflation is affecting us from the grocery aisles to heating oil to dining out to just about everything else.
“Rates are increasing,” Ivana Williams said in a statement to PWC commissioners, “but wages are not.”
But inflation, we’ve learned, is affecting the utility, too, including the cost of water-treating chemicals and electrical transformers.
It appears, according to Sessoms’ report, that a typical family rate increase will run about $12.97 more on our utility bill. While that’s $12.97 I could use for something else, I’m still a supporter of our hometown utility and the men and women who always are there in winter storms and water problems when a community needs them 24-7.
But I have another problem with the utility. O
Your support for CityView helps ensure a more informed community. Donate today.
‘Receiving this letter because …’
The Environmental System Protection folks down there on Eastern Boulevard apparently are after me, and Stevan Cox, an ESP specialist, says in a Feb. 8 letter that I had better shape up and cease and desist from blocking sewer lines.
“On Jan. 31, 2023, the Fayetteville Public Works Commission responded to a sanitary sewer line blockage near Lake Clair Apartments,” Cox wrote. “You are receiving this letter because your building discharges into the sanitary sewer line where this blockage occurred.
“PWC maintenance crews determined the blockage was caused by grease and wipes that had been discharged into PWC’s sanitary sewer system. These materials should be disposed of in the trash, not down any drain. In addition to fat, oil, grease and wipes, the following items should also never be flushed: plastic products (such as tampon applicators, Q-tips, condoms), kitty litter, and any item that does not degrade.
“Our intention is to avoid these kinds of service disruptions by educating our customers about the problems that occur when non-wastewater materials are flushed into the sanitary sewer system,” Cox wrote — and, he said, it is illegal. “These obstructions cause blockages in the sanitary sewer lines and result in sanitary sewer overflows into streets, lakes, rivers, creeks and streams or possibly into surrounding homes and/or businesses. Overflows can cause property damage and have a negative impact on the environment. Additional overflows are considered illegal, untreated discharges to surface waters, and PWC is subject to civil penalty by the state when they occur.”
Cox had a final remark.
“PWC does its part to prevent overflows, and we need our customers to do their part as well by not flushing or pouring non-wastewater materials down the drain,” his letter read. “We request your help in addressing this matter as soon as possible.”
Epilogue
So, there you have it.
I’m on the “most wanted list” of the PWC environmental police.
Truth is, I appreciated hearing from Mr. Cox about this issue. But I’m not the culprit. I’m the last homeowner who will be disposing of oil, grease, wipes, Q-tips or anything nondegradable down any drain. You can, Mr. Cox, include tampon applicators and condoms on the list, too.
But someone is the culprit and likely the reason for the sanitary sewer line blockage near the Lake Clair apartment complex over by Village Drive. That’s not far from my home.
You need not worry about me, Mr. Cox, and I again appreciate your letter. This is the home of my late mother from 1956 to 2009, and Mama would not stand for such irresponsibility, and Mama passed that lesson on to her son.
As for those coming PWC utility rate hikes, inflation is just part of the world we live in these days. But I would welcome a pay raise. Thirteen dollars should do the trick.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
