Lake Oswego sewer rates jumping 30 percent

By Lee van der Voo

The Lake Oswego Review, Apr 2, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (6 Reader comments)

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Lake Oswego residents will be paying substantially more for sewer work than previously thought, with sewer rates predicted to climb 30 percent in July and at least 25 percent in the following two years.

The increases are tied to the Lake Oswego Interceptor Sewer project, which will replace an 18,000-foot pipeline in Oswego Lake and also repair or replace connecting sewer lines and build a new sewage pump station in the Bryant Road area. The city previously planned a series of 10 percent sewer rate increases between 2009 and 2016 to pay for the project.

But new information shows that revenue from sewer rates must climb higher and faster over the next four years in order for the city to sell bonds to pay for sewer construction. City officials liken the issue to obtaining a mortgage on a house — you’re not likely to get one unless you can show future earnings proving you can pay.

The city is doing a rate study to determine exactly how much sewer rates will need to rise.

Early numbers predict increases of 30 percent in 2009, 30 percent in 2010, 27 percent in 2011 and 13 percent in 2012. Based on those numbers, a typical sewer bill is predicted to cost approximately $145 bi-monthy in 2013, compared with a previously projected rate of about $90 and today’s rate of about $58.

Darin Rouhier, the city’s finance director, cautions the estimates are very preliminary and could change. Yet one thing is clear: Increases to sewer rates are coming fast and the burden of paying for ongoing sewer work will be felt much more acutely in the next four years than at any other time.

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