The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) says that a proposed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule to increase a clean water standard in the Delaware River would cost it approximately $3 billion to comply — a cost customers would bear. “Without significant financial support from the state or federal government, that cost will be passed on to customers in Philadelphia’s neighborhoods through higher water bills for years to come,” PWD said in a statement issued Sunday, just days before public comments closed on the federal proposal. It estimates that the proposed regulations would cost customers an additional $22 per month on their water bills, not $1.50 per month as calculated by EPA. PWD serves over 2 million people in Philadelphia, Montgomery, Delaware and Bucks counties by drawing water from the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers and cleaning it to EPA drinking water standards. Read more here.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 2/19/2024