CATHLAMET, Wash. — The town of Cathlamet and the Wahkiakum County Public Utility District are contemplating consolidating the town’s sewer and water systems under the PUD, a proposal that has left people with questions and concerns about the rates they would pay — and what the loss of revenue could mean for Cathlamet.
At a meeting last week, the two entities discussed a draft study that looked at a possible consolidation. Residents and town leaders expressed a range of emotions, from dread over the possibility of rate increases to curiosity about the efficiency and oversight the PUD has said consolidation could bring.
“I firmly believe this is the most important decision this town is going to make in a long time,” said Town Councilor Joe Baker. “It’s a bill you’re going to be paying for as long as you’re here.”
He believes the matter should go to voters. This view is not shared across the entire town council, but they all agreed they want significant input from the community before they proceed.
“You’ve heard a lot tonight,” said Town Councilor Kermit Chamberlin to the people at the meeting. “You have not heard the end. You’ve heard the beginning, just the beginning, scratching the surface of an extremely complex problem.”
The issues with how the utilities were managed and maintained predate the PUD’s report and the current town council, he said.
“It’s going to cost money,” he added. “It’s going to take time. And this process, going forward, needs to take all the time it needs.”
Town Councilor Laurel Waller urged people to stay interested and attend meetings.
“We, this council, aren’t going to choose something that kills the town,” she added.
The PUD received a grant from the Washington State Department of Health to complete a feasibility study about consolidating the PUD-controlled Puget Island Water System and Cathlamet’s water and sewer system. PUD Manager Dan Kay said there are concerns about the trajectory of the town’s systems.
“The Town’s lack of infrastructure funding is leading it on a trajectory to receivership,” the PUD noted in a statement on its website, responding to criticism of the draft study by Cathlamet Mayor David Olson. “At that point, the State of Washington will mandate the utility systems be turned over to a receiving entity such as the PUD.”
Olson has pushed back at the draft study multiple times since it was submitted to town leaders. At the recent town council meeting, he said the Cathlamet’s utilities are not in any danger of receivership and that the town is in good standing with the state.
Roberto Bonaccorso, a spokesman for the state Department of Health, confirmed that Cathlamet’s utilities are in good standing currently and not under any enforcement.
“However,” he wrote in an email, “it does appear they are having difficulty maintaining the required staffing with the required certification for operating the surface water treatment.”
While Cathlamet is approved to have a temporary operator certification for existing staff, this is something the town will have to remedy or face enforcement action, Bonaccorso added.
The PUD’s draft study noted that Cathlamet’s water and sewer utilities are generally in good condition, but that significant improvements to both utilities will be necessary in the next five to 10 years.
Kay argued that the PUD is poised to do this work efficiently and cost-effectively. The PUD is also able to apply for state funding not available to the town.
“No one argues the PUD would not do a good job providing water and utility services within the Town if a merger took place,” Olson wrote in a response to the draft study. “But the fact that the PUD would do a good job does not mean the Town is doing a bad job.”
He has claimed that consolidation would result in a “triple whammy” to residents and ratepayers: double-digit utility rate increases, higher taxes as the town leans on other revenue sources to maintain certain services and reductions to or the loss of other services such as the library, maintenance of city parks and the public pool.
The PUD says the potential rate increase is not known yet and a rate study would be needed to work through the details. The PUD estimates that the water bill for residential customers would increase by about 10% on average if billed at the PUD’s current rates.
The PUD said its analysis shows “the water and wastewater systems are a burden on the Town, especially with the unfunded, necessary infrastructure upgrades.” The PUD argued that the town would potentially prosper with consolidation of the water and sewer utilities. Kay called some of the town’s comments on the draft study “misleading, inaccurate or incomplete and distorted.”
Though Olson is concerned about the impact to the town’s budget, he said he is in favor of finalizing the PUD’s study, making sure the information is correct and then discussing it in detail.
The PUD and town councilors plan to meet with representatives from the Washington Department of Health later this week for more discussion.