As city plans a rate increase, Grand Forks’ wastewater fees are middle of the pack among peer cities
A $45 million plan to upgrade Grand Forks sewage plant would mean a series of fee increases for residents. At present, those fees are about near the median rate charged by comparable cities. 7:00 am, May 22, 2021 ×
Tod Matelski, supervisor of Grand Forks s wastewater treatment plant, visits with a guest outside the plant, built in the early 2000s and located near Grand Forks International Airport. The city is planning a series of 3% hikes to residents wastewater bills to pay for $45 million worth of upgrades at the plant over the next six years. Most of that work, Matelski explained, would replace underground pipes and revamp the interiors of the plant s four bioreactors. (Korrie Wenzel/Grand Forks Herald)
North Prairie Regional Water District has been awarded a $3.8 million loan through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund from the North Dakota Department of E
By Doug Barrett
May 13, 2021 | 7:48 AM
Northwood (ND) has secured a $7 million dollar Clean Water State Revolving Fund loan from the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality. The money will be used to improve portions of the sanitary sewer system and install a citywide storm sewer system.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides part of the SRF Programs funding, which offers below-market interest rate loans to political subdivisions for financing projects authorized under the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act.
Grand Forks panel gives preliminary OK to sewage plant upgrade plan
A unanimous vote on Monday, May 10, nudged forward a plan to revamp Grand Forks wastewater treatment plant. City staff want $45 million worth of upgrades by 2027 to give the facility more logistical room to handle a growing population and the strong sewage produced by industrial companies like JR Simplot and Red River Biorefinery. They want to increase wastewater fees by 3% for the next several years to pay for it. 8:21 pm, May 10, 2021 ×
Grand Forks City Hall. Sam Easter / Grand Forks Herald
About a week after city staff first presented them with an outline of it, Grand Forks City Council members preliminarily agreed on a plan that would ratchet up residents’ wastewater bills to pay for new and better equipment at the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
By Doug Barrett
May 11, 2021 | 8:41 AM
Wastewater bills could be going up in Grand Forks to help finance a growing list of planned improvements at the treatment plant. That repair bill could top $45 million dollars between now and 2027.
City administrator Todd Feland says the city is looking at various funding sources ranging from a state revolving loan fund to revenue bonds. Feland says right now residential rates are in the middle of the pack when compared to regional cities -and the goal would be to keep them in that neighborhood. “We are looking at about a 3% increase for residential users…so in 2030 instead of paying $33 a month it would $45 a month.”