Show All Answers

1. It’s now Spring 2017. What’s the latest on the sewer project?

The second round of the scheduled tiered rate increase will appear on the April 2017 utility bill that will be received in the mail in late March. Sewer rates are tied into the customer’s water usage in the months of December, January and February. Those months are chosen as they should be some of the lowest water usage months out of the year as lawn watering and other high uses attributable to summer hasn’t hit yet. Rates will increase by $9 for the base rate and 0.85 cents for usage. The base rate for the first 1,000 gallons of water used will be $27 compared to the previous rate of $18. The variable rate per 1,000 gallons will be $7.15 compared to the previous rate of $6.30.
For the average household that uses 4,000 gallons of water, the sewer usage on the monthly utility bill will increase to $48.45 from $36.90.
The good news is the estimated cost of the wastewater treatment plant has been adjusted from a high of $15-$16 million to $12 million. Louisburg is also in a housing boom with almost 50 new home permits issued in 2016 with that growth anticipated to continue into 2017. The more users the city has, the more the costs gets spread over those users. Each year, city staff review rates and cost estimates to ensure the rates are not unfounded. This is the last year for the base rate increase although the variable rate is slated to increase again in 2018 and 2020, the year the plant would become operational.
Louisburg’s rates do move it higher up on the list when compared to neighboring communities’ rates. The average monthly wastewater rates are Paola: $38.20; Osawatomie: $39.85; Spring Hill: 42.80; Basehor: $48.04; Louisburg: $48.45; Gardner: $48.85; and Baldwin City: $49.52.
Louisburg is also in line to receive a low-interest loan from the state to help with the financing. City staff also continues to aggressively search out other low-interest loan or grant opportunities.

2. What is wrong with the City of Louisburg’s current sewer system and why are changes needed?

The Environmental Protection Agency has tightened the regulations on nutrients that sewer lagoon systems can discharge. The City has two lagoon systems – the North lagoons, located west of Broadway and N. Third Street, and the South lagoons, located west of Rogers Road between 287th & 295th streets, to the southwest of the City’s public works location.
The City received a letter from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the state agency that monitors sewers, in March 2015 to notify the City that the EPA has tightened the ammonia limits on lagoon facilities that discharge to stream waters and the City’s lagoon system is not within the acceptable range as determined by the EPA. The City had to evaluate the current system and submit a plan of action to KDHE by Nov. 30, 2015.

3. Why is the City of Louisburg being targeted to make changes?

The EPA is looking at all communities that are served by lagoons. There are 800 municipal/commercial lagoons in the state. Louisburg is tied as the fourth largest city with a discharging lagoon system.

1: Ulysses, population: 6,100
2. Iola, population: 5,700
3. Russell, population: 4,500
4. Baxter Springs, population: 4,300
Louisburg, population: 4,300

4. What was the City’s next step?

The City contracted with Larkin Lamp Rynearson, a civil engineering, survey, planning and consulting firm, to evaluate the City’s sewer system and make recommendations on what, if anything, the City could do to become compliant.

5. What did the Larkin Lamp Rynearson report say?

The City Council received the report at the Nov. 2, 2015, meeting and had a work session to discuss the findings Nov. 9, 2015.

The report gave the City three options to consider:

Option 1 is to do nothing, which could eventually involve hefty fines levied on the city by KDHE and the EPA and/or revoking the City’s permits to operate the wastewater system. The EPA could also force the City to make upgrades at the EPA’s choosing, taking the decision away from the City.

Option 2 would be to modify the existing lagoons at a ballpark figure of $6 million.

Option 3 would be to build a mechanical wastewater treatment facility at a ballpark figure of $15-16 million.

According to the report, the City would face multiple violations for ammonia and BOD. Additional findings show areas of concern in not having 3-phase power at the South Lagoons, the reliability of the current equipment and nitrification bacteria loss in cold weather. Without 3-phase power at the South Lagoons there is no availability for back-up power if we have a major electrical outage. Nitrification loss means cold weather kills the organisms that break up waste so it’s much harder to treat the waste.

In addition, the report advised that there very likely could be further restrictions imposed by the EPA further decreasing acceptable ammonia levels and quite possibly placing restrictions on nitrogen and phosphorus limits in the near future. Our current system does not have the ability to meet those potential requirements.

6. I thought the City upgraded the lagoons several years ago and those changes were to be sufficient for 20 or more years. What happened?

Yes, that is correct. At the time the City upgraded the lagoons it was based on the decision that the modifications would be sufficient to meet the current standards set by the EPA and last for many years. There was no hint the EPA would tighten restrictions in less than 10 years. At the time the modifications were made, the city took a calculated risk that by the time a wastewater treatment facility would be needed, in about 15-20 years, the population of the City would have more than doubled. That would have spread the cost across more users.

7. What’s the historical timeline of the current lagoons?

The original North lagoons were built in 1962 and expanded in the 1970s. In 2009 the North lagoons were expanded again, adding 2 more cells for a total of 5 cells at that site. Currently the North lagoons can treat 0.42 million gallons per day.

The South lagoons were built in 1990 and consisted of 3 cells. In 2006 the site was upgraded with 2 additional cells. Currently the South lagoons can treat 0.60 million gallons per day.

8. The City has decided Option 3 best fits the City’s needs. Why?

At its Nov. 16, 2015, meeting, the City Council decided, at the recommendation of City staff and the Larkin Lamp Rynearson staff, that this would be a permanent solution to the City’s wastewater needs. The Council determined that by choosing Option 2 the City would just be putting a band-aide on the City’s lagoons and quite possibly constructing “throw-away” infrastructure. The consultants, through their findings and after talking with KDHE, are anticipating further restrictions by the EPA. If the City proceeded with Option 2, we would once again be out of compliance. The City Council feels it is in the long-term best interests of the community to proceed with building a mechanical plant. The recommendation is to not overbuild a mechanical plant. It would be built to address the new requirements. If future tighter regulations are imposed by the EPA, then equipment can be added to the plant to address those concerns.

The Larkin Lamp Rynearson staff gave the City a ballpark of $16 million but thinks it can be done for $1-2 million less. They based that figure on a plant similar to what we would need which they recently built in a Missouri city of similar size.

9. Now the big question. What does this do to sewer rates?

Unfortunately they will go up. The City has benefitted from extremely low sewer costs for many, many years. Sewer rates are based on the user’s water consumption. City rates changed most recently in 2007, increasing by $2 on the first 1,000 gallons water consumed and 20 cents per 1,000 gallons thereafter. Prior increases occurred in 2005 and 2002. The current rate structure - $11 for the first 1,000 gallons of water consumed and $2.30 per 1,000 gallons thereafter – is the lowest in the area when compared to Paola, Osawatomie and Spring Hill (see information below). At its meeting Nov. 16, 2015, the Council is considering step increases to sewer rates to begin to build some money to pay for engineering and other upfront costs. The City of Louisburg is in an area of the state that is growing and the city is poised to grow as the economy improves. The estimated population in 20 years is expected to be almost 10,000 at an average growth rate of 3.5 percent per year. As the population grows, that will help lower sewer costs for all as the cost can be spread to more users. The City is considering some kind of tiered plan where the biggest sewer contributors will pay more than a single household. The City Council is just beginning to grapple with this need and has lots of decisions to make that will affect Louisburg for many years to come.

Per 1,000 gallon average cost for residential customers based on 4,000 gallon monthly use and additional sewer charges:

Louisburg $4.48 $17.90/month
Osawatomie $9.02 $36.08/month
Paola $9.55 $38.20/month
Spring Hill $10.40 $41.58/month

Detailed Information:
Osawatomie – $4.33 user charge per month, $21.75 net capital charge per month and 25 cents/100 gallon Winter Average (December and January);
Paola – $23 per month sewer service charge plus 38 cents/100 gallon Winter Average (mid-December to mid-February); and
Spring Hill – $16.14 for first 2,000 gallon, $8.22/1,000 gallon thereafter and a $9 per month service charge.

10. Where can I find the report to learn more?

The Larkin Lamp Rynearson complete report, including findings, is here:
Complete Report