Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Renewal and Rate Plan (2015 LGAA)

City of Batavia (Winner)
County: Genesee County
Population: More than 10,000
City Hall: (585) 345-6300

The City of Batavia’s water and wastewater infrastructure includes a complex network of buried infrastructure, pumping stations, storage tanks and treatment facilities. Many of the major system components are aging and have exceeded their original design life. Similar to other communities, the City’s assets are deteriorating due to environmental conditions and normal wear and tear. As a result, increased operation and maintenance expenditures, in conjunction with capital renewal, will be required in the future. Without proper maintenance and ongoing capital reinvestment, increased failure rates and declining levels of service will inevitably result.

As a result of the growing infrastructure needs and declining water sales, the City developed an Infrastructure Renewal and Rate Plan. The Plan identifies the City’s water and wastewater capital needs and associated revenue requirements for the next few years. Moreover, the Plan seeks to responsibly address the capital reinvestment requirements of both the water and wastewater systems without creating an excessive financial burden on City residents.

The City’s Infrastructure Renewal and Rate Plan builds upon previous capital planning efforts and incorporates current conditions so that the concerns can be effectively managed. The capital improvement planning process included several major steps: 1.Revised and updated the major water and wastewater asset inventory; 2.Completed facility walk through inspections; 3.Condition assessment and asset scoring; 4.Projection of remaining useful life for major assets; 5.Project bundling and cost estimation; 6.Risk based project prioritization; and 7.Capital improvement project schedule development.

Resulting from the asset condition assessment and prioritized planning process, a 10-year, $22 million capital improvement plan was developed. The projects included within this Capital Plan represent the most critical improvement needs of the water and wastewater system that should be implemented within the planning horizon. The plan aims to maintain service levels and mitigate the areas in which the City faces the greatest risk of asset failure. The strategic capital investments outlined in this plan reduce the risk of failure of its water and wastewater assets.

To accomplish this in a fiscally responsible manner an accompanying rate adjustment plan has been recommended. The rate plan incorporates modest adjustments to both rates and fees such that sufficient revenues are generated to fund project costs. Regular timely re-investment will help maintain satisfactory service levels for City water and wastewater customers and mitigate the potential for future rate spikes due to sudden failures. Although such capital investment is costly, the net impact to the typical residential customer to fund $22 million worth of water and sewer projects over the next 10 years, is an extra $1 per month. While affordability is relative and unique to each community, $1 extra per month for reliable and dependable water and sewer services is manageable in most.

This project can be duplicated by other municipalities as it identifies critical infrastructure needs, prioritizes projects to be completed and determines a funding source to pay for these improvements.