Price Hikes Discussed For Excessive Water Consumers In Madison

MADISON, NJ — To further encourage water conservation, the Madison Borough Council is considering imposing a separate, higher rate on residents who use excessive amounts of water to irrigate their lawns.

Chief Financial Officer Jim Burnet recently presented members of the council with a proposal that would levy an additional fee on residents who exceed the accepted threshold of water usage.

During the summer, the separate, higher rate would affect approximately 400 of the borough's approximately 4,400 water users.

Jim Trimble of the Madison Electric Department and Burnet, propose a 1.8 cent increase in water rates for users who use more than 10,000 cubic feet of water in a quarterly billing period, which almost always occurs during the summer.

Approximately 25 property owners used more than 30,000 cubic feet of water during the summer quarter, according to water department data. Burnet stated that the worst offender used 8,200 gallons of water per day, which equates to 5.7 gallons of water every minute for 90 days.

"We're also going to be sending letters to the top 25 customers saying, 'we just did an announcement, we don't know if you realize this, but this is how much you're consuming compared to the average.' This is consumption that goes up over the summer, it's not happening year round, so clearly it's irrigation driven," Burnet said.

Under Burnet and Trimble's proposal, a property owner who uses 15,000 cubic feet over the summer months would pay $709, or $89 more than they do now. A property owner who uses 25,000 cubic feet over three months would pay $1,309, or $267, more than today.

The rate change would affect approximately 420 bills, or about 2 percent, of the residential bills that the department sends out to customers each year.

According to Burnet, the borough's motivation for the rate increase is environmental rather than financial. "Just so you know, it's not a big moneymaker for us. It's $75,000 to $85,000 and is only going to impact about two percent of the bills," Burnet said.

Burnet and Trimble said that even with the increase, Madison customers would still pay less than similar users served by New Jersey American Water or the Southeast Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority (SMCMUA), which serves residents in nearby towns.

"Southeast Morris, they bill on 100 cubic feet. They are going to go from eight cents per cubic foot for anyone over 6,000 cubic feet to 8.8 cents. They are increasing their water rates by 10.5 percent," Burnet said.

Members of the council also advocated for more tiers in the model and a staggered increase in rates.

Burnet proposed to the council that the rate change be implemented by ordinance over the next couple of months, allowing the borough to begin charging excessive water users in April.

All residents would also be notified of the rate change in advance.

Mayor Bob Conley agreed with the proposal and stated that they would discuss it further and codify it early in the new year.