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Politics & Government

BRSA Sets Lower Connection Fee for New Users

A look at what it costs to hook up to the Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority.

It's getting cheaper for new sewer users to hook up to the Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority.

At a public meeting July 18 at its Union Beach facility, the six Authority Commissioners approved the 2010-2011 rate of $6481, down about 3.7% from last year's $6732. 

The decrease came about due mostly to two factors used in calculations, said Executive Director Robert Fischer. Grant money received from the American Recovery Act will improve efficiencies at the plant, which allowed for cost savings projections. Those projects include the replacement of all chemical storage tanks, the installation of a wind turbine to reduce energy costs, the installation of a screening press to reduce water content from paper products the authority pays to cart off the premises, and an upgraded odor control system. 

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Also, the 2011 wet winter's snow melt set off a higher flow rate from the municipalities feeding the Authority. The water makes its way into the system via pipe joints, manhole cover seams and pipe leaks, said Fischer. 

Connection fees are one-time fees the BRSA collects from someone who is going to build on undeveloped land, such as a dwelling, industrial or commercial building. It is separate from user fees, which sewer users pay directly to their municipalities for BRSA wastewater treatment services in their quarterly bills. 

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Four years ago, Fischer said the BRSA collected about $1 million in new-user connection fees. In 2009, it was $500,000. And now, In 2010, that number has dropped to $220,000, he said. 

"It doesn’t impact the operations," said Fischer. "What it does impact is the user rate, to a degree. Those connection fees are used to offset the budget expenses. So at the end, when calculating what budget is, we then try to offset it with any surplus we have." 

Not all new users are equal. Schools don't use water the same way as townhouses, for example, so the Authority uses state-regulated calculation methods to give them an Equivalent Dwelling Unit value. 

The fee represents a fair representation of what others have paid to create and maintain the facility, said Fisher.

The connection fee takes into consideration the authority's total debt service payments over the years, plus any capital improvements funded in house, less any government grants. That number is divided by the number of users multiplied by a flow rate.

"It would be unfair for someone to connect and not have to pay any of those costs," Fischer said.

New connections require excavation down to the sewer pipe to install a fitting. In Holmdel, for example, sewer pipes are laid about three to four feet below the surface. Gravity drives sewage to the Union Beach facility, where pipes are about 25 feet below the surface. 

There are five sewer mains connected to the facility, and they are maintained by their municipalities The BRSA services Union Beach, Holmdel, Keyport, Hazlet, Keansburg, Matawan, Aberdeen and parts of Marlboro. To learn more about the BRSA, see our article "Get to Know: The Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority."

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