LAHARPE — The finishing touches are being put on an ordinance that will hike sewer fees in LaHarpe starting in February.
The plan — which City Council members are expected to finalize at their Jan. 11 meeting — will increase meter fees to $40 a month, up from the current $32 charge, along with a .6-cent surcharge on every gallon of water over the first 1,000 gallons used each month.
The rate hikes are necessary because of several needed costly repairs to LaHarpe’s system.
The needs are so extensive, the city will target a phased improvement plan, first focusing on lift stations and inspecting sewer mains, to the tune of about $1.4 million.
“The major problem is the lift stations,” Councilman Danny Ware Jr. said. “A lift station’s life span is about 20 years, and ours are 26 years old. They just need to be revamped.”
The city should have a better grasp on how much sewer main will need to be redone after CCTV camera inspections and smoke testing indicate the extent of some line failures, Ware noted.
“We found some paperwork on a smoke test done in 2010 that indicated numerous penetrations in the line,” Ware said.
But with personnel changes within LaHarpe’s maintenance department since then, it’s unlikely any repairs have been done, he noted.
The sewer failures have come to light in recent months, with “manhole fountains” spotted during torrential rain storms along Monroe Street.
Manhole fountains are caused when rainwater breaches the sewer system at such a rate that it sends water up through manhole openings.
“It means your system has failed,” one engineer told the city in October.
LaHarpe is utilizing federal COVID relief funds and a $30,000 USDA grant for the inspections.
“With the inspections, we will know what everything looks like before we start,” Ware said. “We can focus on what areas will need to be addressed first, in the hopes that it will eliminate unforeseen problems down the road.”
HOW TO pay for the project remains a topic of discussion at City Hall.
The city is anxious to learn whether the federal government will once again allow Community Development Block Grants for municipal infrastructure projects such as sewer repairs.
