In our efforts to provide the most cost effective service to Easttown Township’s sanitary sewer customers, the Township and the Municipal Authority are undertaking a long-term plan to renew the Township’s aging and increasingly expensive sanitary sewer system that includes infrastructure which dates back to the early 1970’s.  This program is intended to address, within the Township, deferred maintenance and replacement of major capital components at the end of their useful lives, and which will, in addition to maintaining the basic integrity of the sewer system, serve to minimize future operating and maintenance costs while providing environmentally appropriate sanitary sewer services.  The program also includes funding the Township’s share of substantial capital improvements to transmission lines and treatment plant facilities located outside of the Township shared with other neighboring municipalities. 

Because every gallon of sanitary sewer must be pumped through the Township, then through Tredyffrin Township and then, in most cases, through Valley Forge Park to the Schuylkill River, the sanitary sewer infrastructure in the Township is extensive, consisting of thirteen pumping stations and approximately seventy miles of underground pipe.  All thirteen pumping stations are being upgraded, including the pumps, equipment, electrical feeds, electrical panels and, in some cases, the structure itself.  In addition, several other projects will be completed relative to the underground sewer lines in order to reduce inflow and infiltration of groundwater into the system, which costs the Township as much to transmit and treat as actual sewage.  The entire program will help reduce costs and improve the environment by utilizing newer, energy efficient equipment and by reducing the amount of clear water entering the system for unnecessary conveyance and treatment.

As noted above, after leaving the Township, the vast majority of sanitary sewage is conveyed through Tredyffrin Township to the Valley Forge Sewer Authority for treatment.  To meet the sanitary sewage needs of the region, both of those facilities have initiated essential expansions and upgrades to their respective facilities.  As a partner in these facilities, Easttown Township shares in the benefits and costs associated with these improvements by way of longstanding cooperative agreements.

In order to pay for these vital upgrades to the sanitary sewer systems, both within and outside the Township, sewer customers in Easttown will experience an increase of approximately 29% on their bills for the first quarter of 2008.  This is only the fifth increase in sewer rates since 1991, representing an average annual increase of 5.8% over the past sixteen years.

The average increase in sewer rates cannot be compared to the common inflation rate, as sewer bills pay for such things as heavy machinery, energy consumption, construction and personnel costs, which are very different from those costs typically included in the consumer price index.  In addition, more stringent environmental regulations require more advanced systems.  Given the nature of sanitary sewer service, as well as the age and condition of the Township’s existing infrastructure, the new rates represent an unpleasant but necessary part of life in southeastern Pennsylvania and Easttown Township, in particular.

There are things each of us can do to help control our costs.  Individually, since sewer bills are based partly on water consumption, we encourage you to monitor your usage.  Keep a watchful eye on the amount of water used for activities such as watering your lawn or washing your car.  In addition, listen carefully to your plumbing fixtures --- a leaky toilet, for example, can waste dozens of gallons per day.  Perhaps more importantly, from the community perspective, is the need to eliminate the intentional and unintentional introduction of groundwater and rainwater from gutters into the sewer system.  Please check around your property to prevent such inflow into the system; not only is it illegal but it costs you and your neighbors a significant portion of your annual sewer bill.  If you have any questions regarding possible inflow into the system, whether on your property or otherwise, please call the Township to discuss.  For additional information and ideas on how to conserve water, please click here.

If you have any questions about the new sewer rates, please contact the Township’s Finance Department at 610-341-1798.

Very truly yours,

Click here to view Sewer Rate Ordinance No. 381-08.