City Council adopts amended charges for wastewater disposal
Basis for channel investments
At its meeting today, the city council approved new charges for wastewater disposal for the period from 2016 to 2018. This has created the financial basis for the urgently needed renovation of the sewers, some of which are over 100 years old.
From January, a cubic metre of wastewater will cost 2.94 euros instead of the previous 2.66 euros. The charge for the discharge of rainwater from the property will increase from 0.87 to 1.06 euros per square metre of sealed surface area per year, while the charges for the disposal of fully biological small sewage treatment plants can be reduced from 58.16 euros to 52.18 euros per cubic metre. From 2016, 8.55 euros per cubic metre must be paid for the disposal of drainless pits.
Around 35% of Chemnitz's current sewer network (approx. 340 km) was built before the Second World War. Since then, they have suffered corresponding wear and tear and deterioration. Most of them are in urgent need of renovation.
In addition to the expansions of recent years, the ESC has also already carried out renovations to the sewer network to counteract the structural and functional defects caused by ageing and to ensure operational safety in compliance with legal requirements. To date, the ESC has only had a relatively small amount of financial leeway available each year for this.
In view of the above-mentioned age structure of the sewer network, responsible maintenance management is becoming increasingly important for the preservation of the network stock. The aim is to ensure disposal safety by restoring the functionality of the sewers and thus extending their useful life .
The public sewer network represents a considerable proportion of all municipal assets. As part of the tasks entrusted to it, the ESC aims to hand over a functional network to future generations and to avoid further erosion of its substance.