INDIANAPOLIS -- Thousands of sanitary sewer customers who live on Indianapolis' west side are facing a rate increase.
The Ben Davis Conservancy District is considering a flat rate fee of $8 for each residential connection.
Currently, the conservancy’s 4,500 customers pay for the sanitary sewer system via their property taxes.
However, under the proposed structure, customers would have to pay a monthly charge.
Wastewater flows from the district’s sewers are currently transported for treatment to the Belmont Wastewater Treatment Plant which is owned and operated by the CWA Authority for Citizens Energy Group (CEG).
In 2015, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) ordered CWA to renegotiate the contracts that were in place for treatment services with its satellite customers, which included the Ben Davis Conservancy District.
As a result of litigation, the district reached a court-ordered settlement with CWA to allow charges for processing sewage to be increased gradually over the next eight years.
Eventually, the Ben Davis Conservancy District’s rates will be increased to the same level as all other users in Marion County.
Currently, district customers pay an average of $12.35 per month with Citizens Energy customers paying $43.34 per month for sewer, according to the district’s website.
A public hearing is scheduled for Monday November 27, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. at the Fleming Garden Christian Church, 530 S. Taft Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana 46241.
The BDCD Board is also studying the feasibility of building and operating their own sewage treatment plant.
The Ben Davis Conservancy District is a special taxing district created to transport sanitary sewage to a treatment plant where it is discharged into the White River.
The district’s boundaries are roughly the Penn Central Railroad tracks on the north, Minnesota Street on the south, Tibbs Avenue on the east and Lucerne on the west.
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