Operating expenses prompt West View Water Authority rate increase

An upcoming 4.1% rate increase for West View Water Authority customers can be attributed to higher operating expenses.

The rate, approved by the authority board of directors, is set to rise Jan. 1. The last rate increase was in September 2018.

Shambaugh Utility Consulting LLC, the authority’s rate consultant, recently completed a cost-of-service study.

“This study demonstrates that a rate increase is necessary,” authority executive director Robert Christian said. “The study looks at operating expenses, which have increased since 2018, and determines the revenue requirement.”

The rate reflects an increase in both the volume consumption charge and customer service charge.

Specifically, the cost of volumetric consumption will increase to $7.22 per 1,000 gallons, which does not include a monthly customer charge. Considering the customer charge, the equivalent rate per 1,000 gallons would be $9.44.

A chart on the West View Water Authority website shows that the rate is below the average of 24 other water providers, comparing an equivalent rate per 1,000 gallons. The highest listed is Aqua Pennsylvania Inc. Main Division at $22.13, and the lowest is at Monroeville Water Authority at $5.73. The average of all providers is $10.69.

In 2018, West View’s cost of water increased by a relatively large amount, to $6.98 per 1,000 gallons not including the meter charge, according to Christian.

“It was offset by millions in grants and included $16.7 million in new infrastructure investments over the next three years, plus our tank maintenance program,” he said.

The West View Water Authority has taken steps to hold costs down and improve efficiency.

The tank maintenance program, implemented after increase in 2018, takes tanks out of service one at a time to thoroughly refurbish them, extending their useful life avoiding the need to replace them for a longer period, according to a letter from the authority.

More than $13 million in grants secured in the past two years has helped defray costs of water line extensions, intake/treatment facility and road improvements, and lead service line replacements.

The authority supplies water to 32 municipalities and more than 200,000 people in portions of Allegheny, Beaver and Butler counties, according to its website

The original water treatment plant is located on Neville Island along the shore of the Ohio River and has a capacity of 40 million gallons per day. A new water treatment plant located in Baden, Beaver County, has a capacity of 15 million gallons per day. The source water is surface water obtained from intake structures in the Ohio River, according to the WVWA website.

The authority’s engineering department is at 2428 Rochester Road in Franklin Park.

Customers may be eligible to receive a grant to be applied to their accounts. Visit westviewwater.org for more information.