MARIETTA - Cobb water customers could see an increase in their water bills starting in October.

The typical residential customer who uses an average of 7,000 gallons per month could see an 11.9 percent increase, or $6.72, in their monthly water bill.

The Cobb Water System is presenting proposed rate increases to the Cobb Board of Commissioners at their 9 a.m. meeting on Tuesday.

The rate increases would affect Cobb Water System customers in unincorporated Cobb, Acworth and Kennesaw.

Kathy Nguyen, conservation coordinator at Cobb Water, said they've restructured the two lowest tiers in Cobb's five-tier billing schedule for residential users.

The lowest tier, 1,000 to 3,000 gallons per month, will not see an increase from their rate of $2.47 per 1,000 gallons. Before, the upper limit of the first tier was 8,000 gallons.

Nguyen said the only increase these customers would see, about 96 cents per month or 3.4 percent, is due to a 7 percent increase in the county's sewer rate. The new rate would be $4.90 per 1,000 gallons. The current sewer fee is $4.58 per 1,000 gallons.

Cobb Chairman Sam Olens said they wanted to minimize the impact of customers in this tier who are financially strapped, and also reward customers who've made a conscious effort to conserve water.

"Really, the people who conserve water and low-income families with lower use won't feel a major impact," Nguyen said.

The other four tiers do have a rate increase with the highest water users seeing the greatest impact of the changes.

Nguyen said the top tier users, any residential customer using more than 50,000 gallons, would pay an average of about $6.80 per 1,000 gallons. Under the current rates, that same customer pays about $5.40 per 1,000 gallons, an increase of about 26 percent. Nguyen said Cobb residents using 60,000 gallons of water per month are at the top end of users in the county. When figuring in the proposed increase in sewer fees, those customers' water bills would be about $90 more per month.

Non-residential fees are also proposed to be increased. Non-residential customers are not on a tiered system. Those customers pay a flat fee, which is currently $2.80 per 1,000 gallons. Under the new rates, non-residential users would pay a flat fee of $3.53 per 1,000 gallons, a 26 percent increase.

If the Board of Commissioners adopts these changes, the annually-scheduled rate increase at the first of the year would not occur, Olens said.

Nguyen said the changes are in part because the system is facing rising costs of chemicals, fuel and other maintenance cost.

"Much of the same things our customers are experiencing, we are experiencing," she said.

Olens said the rate change also comes on the heels of a rate increase by the county's wholesale provider, the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority.

In July, the Water Authority announced it was increasing its rates by 38.5 percent.

As of Oct. 1, its rates will increase by 50 cents per 1,000 gallons, from $1.30 per 1,000 gallons to $1.80.

"There's no way the county can absorb that kind of rate increase," Cobb Chairman Sam Olens said.

The Cobb Water System is the authority's biggest customer, accounting for 70 percent of it's total sales.

The Water Authority also sells water to Austell, Marietta and Smyrna. Those three cities have yet to discuss rate increases for their customers.

Olens, who also serves on the Water Authority Board, said the 38.5 percent increase was a result of an increase in construction costs, chemical costs and energy costs.

He said the Water Authority and the Cobb Water System have some plants that need renovations to fix wear and tear, but also meet environmental regulations.

"It's unbelievable some of the water costs increases," he said.

The $305 million price tag for the South Cobb Sewage Tunnel, the largest project ever for the Cobb Water System, was above what county officials expected, Olens said.

"We have to make timely changes, but costs are higher," he said. "These are not cosmetic changes, but needed changes. If a plant is at it's life cycle, you don't want it to break."

Olens said the board can make a "tough" decision on Tuesday, or put off the decision for decades like the city of Atlanta, where customers are paying close to three times what Cobb customers are paying.

"I don't want to pay it either, but this can't be delayed," he said. "I wish it weren't necessary, but when we should make these improvements now, we can't just say let's wait five years."

ahungerford@mdjonline.com

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