PITTSBURGH \u2014 The largest sewer utility in Allegheny County will be hitting customers with a series of rate increases as it seeks to meet federally mandated targets to reduce the amount of sewage leaking into Pittsburgh\u2019s rivers.<\/p>\n
ALCOSAN board members approved three rate increases over the next three years. Starting January 1, sewer rates will rise by 14%, adding about $8.40 to a typical household\u2019s monthly bill.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ll rise by another 14% in 2028 and 13.5% in 2029. After the third increase, customers will pay roughly $30 per month more than they did this past year, which amounts to $341 per year and 47.5% more than the current average bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s never easy to look at these things, especially as prices are increasing everywhere,\u201d one board member said ahead of the vote, as if she was predicting blowback.<\/p>\n
Another board member said department heads had made cuts and the utility would pursue state and federal funding to head off some of the expected hikes when available.<\/p>\n
The costs are tied to the Ohio River Tunnel project in Pittsburgh<\/a>, which aims to reduce regional sewer overflows by 7 billion gallons per year.<\/p>\n The tunnel is the first component of ALCOSAN\u2019s Regional Tunnel System. The underground network is designed to capture excess wastewater during wet weather and transport it to a central facility for treatment.<\/p>\n The federal government struck an agreement with ALCOSAN as authorities eyed the system\u2019s ageing infrastructure, which has struggled to contain sewage during heavy rain and snowmelt events.<\/p>\n However, customers weren\u2019t thrilled to learn about the cost, which came the same week Duquesne Light Company announced a rate hike<\/a> to accommodate the increased cost to purchase power for its grid and GetGo began charging customers for air<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Pittsburgh remains an affordable city to live in, especially for housing costs.<\/p>\n However, inflation in the Northeast \u2013 which includes Pennsylvania \u2013 is rising faster than the US average, and Pittsburghers paid higher than average utility costs even before ALCOSAN\u2019s hike.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand needing to equip our sewers and sewage with everything; I just think that\u2019s a lot of money for us,\u201d Katherine Kostiuk said.<\/p>\n Download the FREE WPXI News app<\/a> for breaking news alerts.<\/p>\n Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>. | Watch WPXI NOW<\/a><\/p>\n TOP STORIES FROM CHANNEL 11 NEWS <\/p>\n \u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n