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Bellaire Village Sewer Rates to Rise to $10

Bellaire residents presently pay just a $1.25 a month for sewer service, but bills will jump to $10 per month on Sept. 1.

The raise represents an 800 percent increase in village sewer bills — which have not increased since the 1970s, according to Village Administrator Scott Porter. Bellaire Village Council approved the rate increase last month, as Bellaire faces $3.3 million in sanitary and storm sewer separation projects mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Bellaire’s current $1.25 monthly flat rate is the second lowest in Ohio, as only Brookside’s is lower at $1.05 per month. Martins Ferry residents pay a $7.10 flat rate.

Other local municipalities base their sewer rates on the number of gallons used by a customer. In St. Clairsville, rates start at $7.45 for the first 1,000 gallons used, while someone who uses 3,000 gallons a month would pay an even $22 per month for sewer service.

In West Virginia, Wheeling residents pay $6.16 per 1,000 gallons of water used for sewer service, but the rate decreases after more than 10,000 gallons are used.

The lack of proper funding of Bellaire’s sewer system has left the village’s lines crumbling, according to Porter.

“The sewer system is deplorable in this town,” he said. “It has never been properly funded, and it’s never been a priority to maintain,”

In recent months, Bellaire and the East Ohio Regional Wastewater Authority have received “guidance” from the EPA regarding Bellaire’s sewer issues. Officials have been told the best ways to maintain the system, and that it must be examined with a camera each year.

This all costs money, according to Porter.

The current $1.25 per month charge typically generates $3,900 a month, or less than $50,000 a year, he said. The new $10 rate is expected to bring in between $375,000 and $400,000 annually.

The money is needed to pay off the $3.3 million in upgrades by 2025.

“We have no choice,” Porter said. “If we don’t separate our storm and sanitary sewer systems, (the EPA) will put meters on our pump stations and charge us by the gallon for the storm water that goes in. That would bankrupt the village.”

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