DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday afternoon to approve a plan to double residents’ water and sewage bills over the next 10 years, starting in May with an immediate 10% increase.
The plan to use higher water and sewer bills to pay for a water system upgrade, replacing thousands of miles of pipes and other equipment, has been in the works for years. County commissioners said they need the added revenue to both repair and replace the county’s aging water infrastructure.
“Not aggressively addressing our water, sewage system has acted as a moratorium on economic development,” said one commissioner before the vote.
Katherine Maddox, with the DeKalb Water Watch organization, told Channel 2′s Audrey Washington there are measures in place to help low-income residents.
“Residents that are below the poverty line will have a cap placed on their water bill at 3% of their income,” Maddox explained.
Another nine 10% annual increases will be instituted through 2034.
Over the past few months, DeKalb County has seen a number of large water main breaks, including a recent one in Brookhaven that left thousands without water for several days.
In the aftermath, and while repairs were underway, newly elected DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochrane-Johnson pushed for a rate hike to pay for it.
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