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UTILITIES Water plant upgrade to increase water bills The $17.8 million project could raise bills as much as 55 percent by 2018-19, study says Comment By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 17, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 17, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News WHITE CITY — Work is underway on a four-year, $17.8 million project to help remove sediment from water at the Medford Water Commission’s Duff Treatment Plant. Paying for the project after spending the $3.7 million budgeted this fiscal year will require a rate increase because revenues won’t cover the expense, officials said. A draft study table shows residential water users in Medford could see their monthly water bills increase by as much as 55 percent over the next four years, from an average $15.85 this year to $24.52 in 2018-19. The proposed increases are 12 percent each year for the next three years and 10.2 percent in 2018-19. Any increases would need to be approved by the commission after public hearings. Six other Rogue Valley cities that buy water from the commission have expressed concerns about a potential 42 percent increase in their wholesale water rates over the next five years and the process used to determine cost of services in a draft rate study. With the treatment plant and work site just outside the windows of a conference room at the Duff plant, officials from Ashland, Central Point, Eagle Point, Jacksonville, Phoenix and Talent took part in a workshop Wednesday with commission representatives and HDR Engineering Inc., which prepared the study. A coalition of cities sent the commission a letter Aug. 5 questioning the study's methodology. HDR officials said they were willing to look again at a number of aspects of the study. “The next round is not going to look like the round you saw, once they come back with changes based on yesterday’s meeting,” Laura Hodnett, commission spokeswoman, said Thursday. The commission also will look at bonding to help finance capital projects, which could soften rate increases, although it has historically operated on a pay-as-you-go basis, she said. “Even though there are a lot of subjective parts, it’s basically a math table,” said Ed Olson of RH2 Engineering of Central Point, who raised issues for the six cities. Olson was manager of the Water Commission for 17 years until 2003. His firm is contracted to represent the cities. “I’m trying to take a thorough look at what is happening,” Olson said during a discussion on distribution expenses. “This is not a precise science. There is some judgment involved here," Tom Gould, vice president of HDR, said during the discussion. Gould said he was willing to look again at a number of issues raised by the cities. Questions covered nine categories, including operation costs, depreciation, unaccounted-for water losses, peak-day capacity and the rate base. HDR used industry-accepted guidelines from the American Water Works Association M1 Manual in its study. McClure & Sons Inc. of Mill Creek, Wash., is already preparing ground for what is called the flocculation/sedimentation addition to the Duff plant after being awarded the work contract. Flocculation is a process in which coagulants are added to water taken from the Rogue River. Minute particles of sediment will cling to the coagulants and drop out into a sediment pond, reducing the amount of fine material caught by filters. Reducing the need for filtering means less plant maintenance and less water lost from cleaning. River water is dirtier in the winter, and the Duff plant needs to be ready to supply treated water if there is a disruption in the Big Butte Springs water supply. Commission staff originally thought of adding more filters to the system, but analysis showed that increasing flocculation would put less strain on the filters and perhaps avoid the need for additional filters. In addition to the project, other capital expenses for the next five years total $13.5 million. They include pump-station upgrades and line installations. “Your capital projects are what drives the budget,” said Hodnett. Tony Boom is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Reach him at [email protected]     By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 17, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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