Sewer fees rise for homes in southern third of county

DRAPER — The cost of sewer service will increase by $5.50 per month beginning today for most homes in the southern third of Salt Lake County.

The South Valley Sewer District Board of Trustees unanimously approved the fee hike Wednesday, a move necessitated by the planned sewage-treatment plant in Riverton, sewer district officials said.

Service fees for sewage treatment and collection for single-family residential homes in Riverton, South Jordan, Herriman, Bluffdale, most of Draper, a southern portion of Sandy and some unincorporated areas in southwest Salt Lake County will increase from $15 to $20.50 per month.

In Draper's Suncrest development, monthly fees will increase from $18.50 to $21. Rates are higher in that area because South Valley collects the flows but the Timpanogos Special Service District in American Fork treats them on the Utah County side of the development, officials said.

The South Valley Sewer District plans to build a membrane bioreactor plant near the Jordan River at 13500 South. The treatment plant has been in the works for about five years but has been slowed by a legal fight over where it could be built.

Riverton residents who had wanted to block the facility from being built near their homes reached a settlement with the city and the sewer district in February.

Part of that settlement was a promise by the sewer district to build a more neighbor-friendly plant that uses membrane technology rather than the traditional staged-aeration method.

With a price tag of about $126 million, a membrane facility is about $37 million more expensive than the traditional plant, creating the need for the rate hike, said Craig White, sewer district general manager.

"(The rate increase) will cover the membrane component," White said.

In May, the board voted to boost the cost of new sewer connections in the district's service area by about $1,000 per home, an increase White said would have been needed no matter what type of plant was built.

Design and construction of the plant is expected to take three years.

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