RATES: Check your bills this quarter for the latest news on rates, stormwater, cost-saving

Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District customers billed by Cleveland Water will receive a bill insert this quarter offering a reminder of the upcoming rate changes, cost-saving opportunities, and Regional Stormwater Management Program news.

A copy of the insert content is featured below.

RATES: 2016 rates take effect January 1, cost-saving programs available to eligible customers

The 2016 rates in blue take effect January 1, 2016.

On January 1, 2016, our Cleveland sewer rate increases to $78.05 per MCF (1,000 cubic feet of water or 7,480 gallons) and suburban rates increase to $79.85 per MCF. See the full rate schedule.

Reduced rates are available to customers who meet Homestead or Affordability Program criteria. We also have other cost-saving programs available.

The increases seen in the 2012-2016 rate schedule are due to major construction projects and a 25-year program to reduce combined sewer overflows known as Project Clean Lake. We are currently finishing a rate study to determine the next rate schedule slated to begin in 2017.

RELATED NEWS:

• SAVE: Four cost-saving programs may help you reduce your sewer bill 
• NEWS: Euclid Creek Tunnel completed $3.6 million under budget
• VIDEO: Take Christen and Ryan's 2-minute treatment plant tour

RATES: 2015 rates take effect January 1, find out if you qualify for cost-saving programs

On January 1, 2015, our Cleveland sewer rate increases to $69.65 per MCF (1,000 cubic feet of water or 7,480 gallons) and suburban rates increase to $71.75 per MCF. See the full rate schedule.

Reduced rates are available to customers who meet Homestead or Affordability Program criteria. We also have other cost-saving programs available.

The increases seen in the 2012-2016 rate schedule are due to major construction projects and a 25-year program to reduce combined sewer overflows known as Project Clean Lake. We will conduct a study in 2015 to determine the next rate schedule slated to begin in 2017.

RATES: New 2014 rates go into effect January 1, four ways to save

Our 2014 rate schedule goes into effect January 1, and there are four cost-saving programs available for qualifying customers.

The 2014 base charge is $6.60 per bill. Cleveland residents pay $62.15 per MCF ($37.75 for Homestead or Affordability Program customers), and suburban customers pay $64.55 per MCF ($38.95 for Homestead or Affordability Program customers). One MCF is 1,000 cubic feet of water consumption, equal to 7,480 gallons. Rates are charged based on actual consumption. See the full 2014-2016 rate schedule.

The 2012-2016 rates are based on maintenance and operation needs, but also account for major infrastructure investments like Project Clean Lake, a 25-year $3 billion plan to reduce pollution in Lake Erie by about 4 billion gallons a year by 2035.

We do offer four cost-saving programs that can help eligible customers pay a reduced rate: Homestead, Wastewater Affordability, Summer Sprinkling, and Crisis Assistance. All of these are briefly referenced below and detailed at neorsd.org/save.

NOTICE: Cleveland Water customers can expect a new bill format, separate bills for water, sewer

Beginning November 11, the City of Cleveland is changing its billing method for Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District customers served by the Cleveland Division of Water: The combined bill is being divided into separate bills in separate envelopes.

RELATED: Cleveland Water to split bills from NEORSD, hopes to clear confusion (The Plain Dealer, November 13, 2013)

Cleveland Water has been communicating this change to its customers and ours since before the last billing cycle. As a recap, here's what our customers can expect starting the week of November 11:

1. No longer one combined bill. Instead of receiving one combined bill for water, wastewater, and local charges, Cleveland Water customers served by the Sewer District will now receive a separate NEORSD bill for wastewater charges.
2. Two separate envelopes on separate days. Since Cleveland Water and NEORSD bills will now be separated, they will be mailed at separate times. Your sewer bill will be mailed about three days after your water bill and they will need to be paid separately.
3. Two separate account numbers. NEORSD customers served by Cleveland Water formerly had all services referenced under a single account number. Starting with this separation, you will have a new NEORSD account number when making payments. You will also need this new number to sign up for eBilling (if you so choose) after you receive your first NEORSD bill under the new system. 

NEWS: Cleveland Heights and Berea customers, your stormwater bill and sewer/water bills are separate

If you are a customer living in Cleveland Heights or Berea, you will need to pay your 2013 stormwater bill separate from your cities' water and sewer bills. Here's why.

As Sewer District customers in our stormwater service area, you will receive a bill for the new stormwater fee starting in 2013. This new fee supports our Regional Stormwater Management Program, which will reduce flooding, decrease erosion, and improve water quality.

The stormwater fee will appear on a new stormwater bill directly from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District; it will not be included with any other water or sewer bills you may receive from your city. Be advised that when you receive your stormwater bill from the Sewer District, please pay it separately from your current water and sewer bill from your city.

At this point, the Sewer District only accepts checks and money orders, payable to the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (or NEORSD).

NEORSD
P.O. Box 94550
Cleveland, Ohio 44101

If you have questions or concerns, email us at stormwater@neorsd.org, call Customer Service at (216) 881-8247, or tweet us @neorsd.

Photo: morguefile/xandert

NEWS: Mayans schmayans, here are 2013 predictions NE Ohioans can count on.

So we have survived the predictions of the apocalypse, but that doesn't mean there aren't important endings and beginnings to talk about.

Here are just a few of our more-certain 2013 predictions as we take a moment to prophesy:

SAVE: Affordability Program app available online

Administered by partners at the Cleveland Housing Network, Wastewater Affordability Program applications are now available as a PDF download from CHN's website.

• Link to CHN's utility assistance programs
• Download a Wastewater Affordability Program PDF application
• Learn more about our cost-saving programs

The Sewer District's wastewater affordability program—along with expansion of its Homestead program—were launched in 2011 as part of its 2012-2016 rates schedule. All of the Sewer District's cost-saving programs were promoted with a customer mailing in November that resulted in Customer Service call volumes more than six times its weekly average.

Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District and Cleveland Division of Water customers may apply if they meet the income guidelines posted on CHN's utility assistance page. 

The Sewer District also is developing a crisis assistance program that will benefit customers affected by a major event in their lives, such as major medical expenses not covered by any other source, job loss, separation, or divorce. The program will offer financial assistance (up to $300) toward your account and suspends water shut-off action. Program details will be available later this year.

ASK US: "I shut off my water. Why do I have sewer charges?"

Our Ask Us! page recently received the following email from a customer who spends several months a year out west:

I spend the winter in Arizona. I shut my water off but I still have sewer charges. Is there any way of avoiding these charges since i'm not using my water for almost 8 months?

It's a good question. The direct answer is "No," but I'll quickly follow-up by saying, "but here's what we're doing..."

First, a bit of background: For most customers, we bill based on water-meter readings (water consumption, measured in MCF which is 1,000 cubic feet or 7,480 gallons) because most water entering the home eventually exits into a sewer. A typical customer account uses 1.875 MCF per quarter, or about 14,025 gallons of water. Many customers use less than 1 MCF per quarter, but through 2011, our accounting method has assessed accounts a 1 MCF minimum charge, even when the actual metered consumption was less than 7,480 gallons. We shared some of the reasons for the minimum charge during our 2011 series of public rate meetings.

That is changing January 1, 2012 to the benefit of many small users, and even for special circumstances like our Ask Us! emailer.

As we presented last spring, our fee structure is changing in 2012, replacing the 1 MCF minimum (about $30-50, depending on your community) with a $5.85 base fee plus the actual metered-consumption charge.

Here's an example.

A small user in Cleveland, based on .63 MCF over a three-month period in 2011, would be charged for a full 1 MCF, or $44 for the quarter. Starting next year, that same customer—based on the $5.85 charge and actual consumption charges—would pay $37 per quarter. The charges will be based on actual consumption, rather than the 1 MCF minimum.

And that example doesn't even take our expanded cost-saving programs into account.

The 1 MCF minimum charge had been a significant challenge for many customers. As we reviewed our rate options last year, eliminating this charge and instituting a base fee was an opportunity to serve our customers while enabling us to meet the funding challenges ahead.