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| Camden & Rockland Division of Aqua Maine Seeks 23.6 Percent Rate Hike | | 3/4/2010 3:12:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | Aqua Maine, Inc. (Aqua) filed a water rate increase request on February 26 with the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for its Camden & Rockland Division. The request is for a 23.6 percent increase, or $1,127,000 annually. The PUC has up to nine months to review the request and make a final decision, although a decision could be made sooner. All customers will be mailed a notice of the proceeding, which outlines their rights to participate in the process.
According to Aqua Maine, the rate increase request is driven primarily by the addition of a $7.2 million membrane filtration facility at Mirror Lake to comply with new water quality regulations, along with the operating expenses associated with the new water treatment facility.
"Although the lake has been unfiltered for more than 120 years, we will begin to filter the water in 2010 to comply with new federal and state drinking water regulations," says Aqua Maine president Judy Kelley. "We expect the new $7.2 million addition to be online in August this year." The membrane filtration plant will be the first full-scale use of this technology in Maine. Compared to traditional technology, it requires a smaller building footprint, uses less chemicals in the treatment process, and results in less wasted water from the backwash and filter cleaning process.
About one half of the new filter plant is being funded with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, or "economic stimulus" funds. The state has awarded $3.6 million toward the new filtration facility, of which $1.1 million is a grant and the balance is at a zero percent interest rate.
If the rate increase is approved, the cost of water will have increased three percent on an annualized basis since 1995. The average quarterly bill for a customer using 1,300 cubic feet of water (110 gallons per day) would be $95.66.
The Camden & Rockland water system serves 7,700 customers in Rockland, Camden, Rockport, Thomaston, Owls Head, Warren and Union, and is one of 20 Maine water systems owned or operated by Aqua.
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