MORGANTOWN — It was clear members of Morgantown City Council are hearing from constituents still on edge following recent flooding as they put a number of questions to Morgantown Utility Board leadership on Tuesday before ultimately voting to approve first reads of the utility’s requested rate increases for water, sewer and stormwater service.
On identical 6-1 votes, council moved ahead with a 13% increase for water rates and a 12% bump in sewer rates. Councilor Brian Butcher voted in the minority both times.
Council voted 5-2 to approve an 18% increase in stormwater fees. Councilor Ixya Vega joined Butcher in voting against the increase.
Butcher, who said his home is among those in the city’s 7th Ward to be impacted by the flooding that took place on June 13, then again on July 29, asked MUB General Manager Mike McNulty how the increased rates would future proof MUB’s system against additional flooding.
The short answer is, it won’t — particularly not against what McNulty called “extraordinary rain events.” He cited as much as 6.4 inches of rain falling over a two-hour span during the most recent storm.
McNulty explained that the rate increases — the first since water rates jumped 33% and sewer rates jumped 87.5% in 2016 — are to offset inflation and lost revenue due lower usage, including the loss of one of MUB’s largest customers in Mylan. The increases will basically allow MUB operate and maintain the system it has in place.
What they won’t do is prepare that system to handle an unprecedented amount of water in a very short window.
“No system is going to handle that. I need to be clear on this,” McNulty said, explaining that on those two occasions, rainwater easily outpaced portions of the system designed to handle 100-year storms.
“We are working every day and we will continue to do the good work that we do. It just happens to be two extraordinary events in six weeks,” McNulty said, adding that preventing future extraordinary events is a discussion that will involve more than just MUB.
The utility recently went to both the city and the Monongalia County Commission to request $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds from each for upgrades to portions of the Popenoe Run storm and sewer systems to help with those concerns.
McNulty said those discussions will also need to involve entities like the West Virginia Department of Highways and West Virginia University, among others.
“Six-and-a-half inches of rain, that’s a flood. And flood control, that’s big. It’s a long time and it’s a lot of money,” he said.
The increases that received council’s initial approval on Tuesday will amount to a jump of $13.13 every two months based on average customer usage. The ordinances also include 3% built-in increases for water, sewer and stormwater rates in 2024,2025 and 2026.
Tuesday’s meeting marked the first for new 1st Ward Councilor Joe Abu-Ghannam, who was sworn in alongside his wife and stepson, and before an audience full of friends and family, to start the meeting.
Abu-Ghannam, who admitted he was a bit nervous to be in the seat for the first time, was selected by council on July 28 from among five candidates looking to fill the vacancy created when Patrick Hathaway won the seat in April’s municipal election but ended up unable to serve due to an impending move.
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