Sewer Fee In Princeton Is Going Up. Here’s Why

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton residents will see a slight increase in sewer fees as the Council recently adopted an ordinance that increases sewer service charges.

Princeton has not increased the rates since 2022.

Revenue from the fee hike is required to make upgrades and maintain to Princeton’s sewer system, officials said.

To this end, the Municipality is focusing on a usage-based fee structure for sewer conveyance and treatment.

Princeton owns and operates the sanitary sewer system. The treatment works related to the sanitary sewer system are performed by the Stony Brook Regional Sewerage Authority which then charges Princeton for the cost to treat the sanitary sewer flows.

“The sewer service charges that Princeton levies are not a tax, it is a user fee. The revenue that is generated through this user fee is used to cover the sewage conveyance and treatment costs,” Deanna Stockton, Municipal Engineer and Deputy Administrator explained.

“Sewer users are charged based on the volume of the sewer flow that they generate each year.”

According to a memo to the council from sewer engineer Andrew Filippi, the sewer fees are based on the actual prior year's water usage, with a gradual increase in the structure.

“The fees are designed to bill sewer users so that we cover all expenses associated with the operation and maintenance of the sanitary sewer infrastructure,” Filippi said in the memo.

The rate would increase from $7.10 to $8 for the first 2,000 CCF (hundred cubic feet).

For consumers using 2,001 – 5,000 CCF the rates will go up from $10.25 to $10.80; and from $12.25 to $14.00 for consumers using over 5,000 CCF.

“So for the average residential user, they would see their total bill for the year increasing from approximately $470 to $528. That's an increase of $60,” Stockton said during the Council meeting.

The Municipality will be working with attorneys to see if there are other upgrades or improvements needed to the ordinance, so they can look at adjustments for affordable housing and other state upgrades.

“But at this point, it is solely an increase in the rate so that we can raise the revenue needed to make these most necessary improvements to the sewer system,” Stockton said.

Councilwoman Mia Sacks said it was never easy to vote for an increase, but in this case, it was needed because Princeton has been “proactively grappling with decades of deferred maintenance” to its sewer system.

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