4/4/1984 (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

The Chairman opened the hearing to the public and asked if anyone present wished to be heard. Doyle Vernon of 2324 SW 1st Pl., pointed out that it has been stated that there is no accurate way to measure sewage, but the cap has been set at 12,000 gallons. He did not believe the majority will be using 12,000 gallons of sewage when they are only using an average of 6,000 gallons of water. He further did not believe the same cap is equitable for multi -family such as Vista Royale, and wished to know why the cap couldn't be set lower to be more equitable. Mr. Vernon realized it is hard to provide an ideal rate structure for everyone, but felt there could be some improvement. Mr. Raftelis informed Mr. Vernon that before. establishing a cap, they conducted studies in various counties in Florida similar to Indian River County where they looked at residential consumption during the non -irrigation months, based on the assumption that all water returns to the sewer during those months. They started with a cap of 6,000 gallons and moved up in increments of 1,000 to determine how much consumption would fall below those figures. What they found was that approximately 95% of consumption fell below the 15,000 gallon level, i.e., if the cap was set at 15,000, you would be charging for 95% of the water returned for the sewer. It was felt that was a little high for the Indian River County area; so, they bumped it down 3,000 gallons, and they have concluded that by setting the cap at 12,000 gallons', we are picking up anywhere from 95 to 98% of the water returned to the sewer. Mr. Vernon brought up the example of a home owner on a fixed income who will only use 3,000 or 4,000 gallons a month; they are having to pay for sewer also when in reality they are not using that much because they are watering 13 � APR 41984 BOOK 56 PAGE 6620