The sale of Wardsville's water and sewer services to Missouri American Water will be addressed at a 6:30 p.m. public hearing Tuesday at the Wardsville Lions Club.
Representatives from Missouri American, the Wardsville Board of Trustees and engineering firm Central Missouri Professional Services will be present to discuss any issues residents may have.
The purchase price was $2.75 million for the water and sewer systems, which together serve approximately 875 customers.
The trustees entered into an agreement with Missouri American Water in December, and the company filed applications for ownership of the systems with the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC), which must approve the purchase. To date, the PSC has not voted on the purchase.
New requirements from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for village water and sewer systems were a major factor in Wardsville's decision to sell the systems.
The Northwest Treatment Plant was completed in 2003, giving Wardsville a then up-to-date sewage treatment facility which met all of the EPA regulations, which have changed over the years. The plant was not built to minimize the amount of ammonia in its discharge. The EPA now has stricter limits on the amount of ammonia that can be discharged, and none of the three Wardville sewage treatment plants - Deer Haven, Churchview and Northwest - can meet this new limit.
The Board of Trustees hired an engineering consultant in 2014 to investigate options to meet the new limits. The cost estimates for these options ranged from $4 million-$12 million. Wardsville would have been required to borrow money to pay for the construction work and would have had to raise sewer rates to pay off the loans.
The decision to sell the water and sewer systems was based on the belief no one would buy the sewer system alone, give its expense to own and operate.
For the immediate future, no rate increases are planned if the sale is approved. Currently, the Wardsville system's water rate is $13.75 for the first 1,000 gallons of water used and $2.25 per each 1,000 gallons after that. The sewer rate is $32.50 for the first 1,000 gallons and $9 per each 1,000 gallons after that.
Last July, the PSC approved new water and sewer rates for all districts served by Missouri American Water. The typical Jefferson City water customer using 4,200 gallons saw rates go down from $41.30 to $32.72. The Jefferson City district's flat sewer rate was raised from $65.22 to $66.93 a month.
Wardsville would become part of Missouri American Water's Jefferson City water and sewer districts if the sale goes through.
Company officials said the next time they could seek an increase would be in two to three years.