A sign on Harrisburg’s lower river walk warns about the combined sewer system.
Capital Region Water is extending the public comment period for a proposed stormwater fee for Harrisburg.
The CRW board of directors on Wednesday night voted to extend the public review and comment period by almost a month, to Oct. 22.
“The month-long extension will ensure we have done all we can to give residents the opportunity to review and comment on a plan that is designed to improve the health of local waterways and enhance our neighborhoods,” said CRW CEO Charlotte Katzenmoyer, in a statement.
In June, CRW proposed a separate stormwater fee for most CRW customers beginning Jan. 1. It originally set a Sept. 25 deadline for comments, but the board decided to extend it to give residents more opportunities to voice their opinions, Katzenmoyer said.
In addition to receiving more than 70 comments to date, CRW has made dozens of presentations on the proposed fee at community meetings and forums. CRW also will give a presentation at a Harrisburg City Council meeting on Oct. 15.
Under the proposal, the average Harrisburg residential customer would pay a stormwater fee of $72 starting Jan. 1. Customers with larger properties, including many commercial customers, would pay more based on the total amount of impervious surface on their properties.
Until now, stormwater costs had been included in a customer’s wastewater bill, not broken out separately. If the stormwater fee is imposed, customers should experience less of an increase in the wastewater portion of their bills than they would have otherwise, CRW has said.
CRW said it expects the fee to raise about $5.3 million annually exclusively for stormwater operations and projects. It plans to invest $315 million over the next 20 years to upgrade its infrastructure and reduce the flow of stormwater into area waterways.
Harrisburg’s sewer system suffers from deferred maintenance going back decades, as well as an outmoded, combined design that allows untreated sewage to empty into the Susquehanna River during rainstorms. CRW is under a partial consent decree with the federal Environmental Protection Agency to slash the amount of sewage overflow.
Separately, Harrisburg is considering selling the city’s water/sewer system, interviewing interested, qualified private water companies beginning this week.
To learn more about and comment on CRW’s proposed stormwater fee, visit their website.
