Progress Report on Sewer Rental for New York CityAuthor(s): Richard H. GouldSource: Sewage and Industrial Wastes, Vol. 23, No. 7 (Jul., 1951), pp. 849-852Published by: Water Environment FederationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25031631 .

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PROGRESS REPORT ON SEWER RENTAL FOR NEW YORK CITY *

By Richard H. Gould

Director, Division of Sewage Disposal, Department of Public Works, New York City, N. Y.

People have been living for some 287

years in those tracts of land at the mouth of the Hudson River that are now included in New York City. How

ever, it is only 21 years ago that this

city made up its mind to treat its sew

age on a comprehensive city-wide basis ; it is an even shorter period since work

was really started. Sewage treatment, therefore, is really a newcomer in the

municipal picture.

Large Investment

The present program is beginning to crowd the $300,000,000 figure for con

struction costs, to say nothing of sub stantial annual sums for operation. The impact of this program on the

city's financial structure can well be

imagined. The backbone of city reve nue is the real estate tax, the yield from which had already been heavily encumbered for debt service and the

requirements of multifarious activities of long-standing services to the people. The securing of adequate sums of as sured continuity has been one of the

most serious and vexing problems in

planning the program. The experiences of New York City in

the financing of its sewage treatment

program have followed the trend com mon in so many other cities. Gener

ally speaking, all of the city adminis

trations, regardless of political back

ground, have been aware of the neces

sity and desirability of advancing a

substantial program for sewage treat ment. Progress has been made, but the

problem of debt limitation and the

* Presented at 1951 Annual Meeting, New

York Sewage and Industrial Wastes Assn.; New York, N. Y.; Jan. 19-20, 1951.

pressures and urgencies attendant to other worth-while projects have been troublesome. The final impasse, reached

early in 1950, was surmounted by the

adoption on July 1, 1950, of ordinances

providing for the collection of separate sewer charges or "sewer rents." By this action, the financing of sewage dis

posal was divorced from limitations caused by other capital improvements. The establishment of this principle is the greatest single step yet taken in

assuring the early completion and

proper operation of works for the dis

posal of sewage. Such action had been

suggested many times during the past ten years, but political implications prevented progress.

History of Financing

A brief outline of the sequence of events may be of interest. The start of

modern sewage treatment for the city may be said to be with the employment of consulting engineers in 1928 to pre pare plans for the Wards Island sewage treatment works. On December 29, 1929, control of sewage treatment was

placed with the Department of Sanita tion on a city-wide basis ; in June, 1931, ground was broken under the first con tract for the Wards Island works.

The advent of the depression pre vented further construction and it was not until 1934, with the introduction of PWA and federal grants, that work

was resumed. At that time, work was started on the Coney Island plant with a 35 per cent federal grant and re sumed on Wards Island with a 45 per cent grant. Some $13,250,000 was col lected as grants for these two projects.

The city's share of the cost was financed

849

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850 SEWAGE AND INDUSTRIAL WASTES July, 1951

as an assessable improvement. Under this method money expended in any one

year is collected over a five-year period as a direct assessment, in proportion to the valuation, on all property in the

city. It appears on the individual an

nual tax bill under the caption of

"city-wide assessment."

This method was continued to start construction at the Tallmans Island,

Bowery Bay, Jamaica, City-Harts Island, and 28th Ward plants.

By 1940 the amounts collected each

year to pay for these construction costs in a five-year period, as required for assessable improvements, were becom

ing onerous and it was decided to re

duce the annual charges by reverting to 30-year bonds. To do this it was

necessary to abandon the assessable im

provement method and finance the works through the regular city capital budget for capital improvements.

The total amount that may be author ized each year in the capital budget is limited by the margin in the city's debt incurring power, which limit is defined by law. Aside from certain

self-sustaining projects, such as water

supply, there is normally some $100, 000,000 available. This must meet the construction requirements for hospitals, schools, health centers, courts, jails, transportation, parks, bridges, libraries, police and fire stations, incinerators, etc. Because of the great demand for the limited funds, it was not possible to secure as large adoptions for sewage treatment as was desired. However,

work on a number of plants started as

assessable improvements was continued under the capital budget and new

projects were begun for the East Bronx

intercepting sewer, Lower Manhattan

intercepting sewer, Owls Head sewage treatment works, etc. The intervening

war years and lack of materials and

labor, of course, limited the amount that could be spent in any event.

By the end of 1948 the lack of prog ress in the sewage disposal program

was so marked that the city acquiesced in the so-called "consent order" issued

on December 16, 1948, by the Inter state Sanitation Commission. Under the program provided in this order cer tain works costing around $90,000,000

would be built in the five-year period ending in 1953; the remainder of the

program, that may cost around $130, 000,000, would be completed by 1959 unless unforeseen conditions arose.

It was obviously impossible to finance this program under the limited capital budget and, in spite of heavy immedi ate charges, recourse was once more

made to the assessable improvement method. During 1949 and half of 1950 some $48,000,000 was authorized from this source. However, because the gross amount of assessable improvements per

missable is also tied in with the city debt limit, it was found that the sew

age requirements left very little mar

gin for other normal uses. The as

sessable improvement method is the

only one available to the Borough Presidents for the construction of

highways, sewers, and other local im

provements. To permit a normal amount of this essential work to pro

ceed, and at the same time to keep faith in the commitment to advance the sewage disposal program, advantage

was taken of the permissive state law and sewer rentals were adopted effec tive July 1, 1950.

Provisions of Local Law

Local Law No. 67, which provides for the imposition and collection of sewer rents, is relatively simple in its

provisions and administration. Its more essential provisions are para phrased as follows :

The "Sewer System" is defined as

"... the sewers, manholes, intercept

ing sewers, sewage pumping, treatment and disposal works, and other plants,

works or equipment and accessories within the city, which are used or use ful in connection with the collection, treatment or disposal of sewage and

waste, and which are owned, operated or maintained by the City as part of the public sewer system."

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Vol. 23, No. 7 8EWER RENTAL FOR NEW YORK CITY 851

". . . In addition to any other fees or charges provided by law, the owner

of any parcel of real property con nected with the sewer system, including but not limited to real property con nected with the sewer system by means of a private sewer or drain emptying into the sewer system, shall pay a sewer rent or charge for the use of the sewer system. Such rent or charge shall be based on the water supplied to any such real property as measured by the amount charged for such water, except as otherwise provided by this section.'

'

"For any such property supplied with water from the municipal water

supply system the sewer rent or charge shall be equal in amount to one-third of the charges for water supplied to such property from such system.''

Provision is made for correcting charges in case water supplied does not pass to the sewer system and for pro viding charges for water reaching the sewer system but not paid for in the

city water bills.

Unpaid water and sewer charges may be a cause for shutting off the water

supply and become a lien on the prop erty served.

"The revenues derived from the sewer rentals imposed hereunder, in

cluding penalties and interest thereon, shall be kept in a separate and distinct fund to be known as the sewer fund. Such fund shall be used for the pay ment of the cost of the management, maintenance, operation and repair o? the sewer system, the cost of adminis

tering and enforcing the provisions oJ this law and the cost of collection oJ the sewer rents or charges imposed pur suant to the provisions of this section and any surplus in such fund shal be used for the payment of the inter?s and amortization of any debt whicl has been or shall be incurred for th construction of intercepting sewers an<

sewage treatment and disposal works, and for the enlargement, replacement, or addition of intercepting sewers or

sewage treatment works. However,

such funds shall not be used for the extension of sewers to serve unsewered

areas."

Provision is made for the collection of rents and the administration of the

provisions of the law through existing agencies, primarily in the Water and

Finance Departments.

Expected Revenue

Sewer charges to the extent of one

third of the water bill would normally be expected to return about $15,000,000 per year. The intensive campaign for water conservation in 1950 has reduced the returns from water so that the sewer rentals may yield only about

$14,000,000. It is believed, however, that with the more ample water supply

shortly due, New Yorkers will revert to their old water use habits and returns

will increase.

Since the passage of the law, charges for the operation and maintenance of

sewage disposal plants, intercepting sewers, and the sewage system, and the collection and administration of sewer

rents, are being charged to this new

source of revenue. This relieves the tax levy budget of the city to the ex

tent of some $6,600,000. In addition,

existing debts outstanding under as

sessable improvements are being liqui dated and other authorizations are be

ing refinanced on the basis of 30-year bonds. Some $72,000,000 are involved

in this operation. Future appropria tions will be financed from this source.

Conclusion

What has been recounted in the

foregoing discussion is not so much a

progress report on sewer rentals in

New York City as a report on the

progress of the public consciousness of

the necessity and importance of clean

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852 SEWAGE AND INDUSTRIAL WASTES July, 1951

ing up the city's waterways. Those

who are elected to administer public institutions are subject to many de

mands and pressures and it is very

generally true that only those par ticular projects are advanced that in the shrewd judgment of these elected

officials will be most acceptable to the

public. The adoption of sewer rentals

has been accepted by the public with

hardly a murmur of protest. It ap

pears abundantly clear, therefore, that

New York City wants to clean up its

waterways and will undoubtedly do so.

STATUS OF NEW YORK CITY TREATMENT PROGRAM

New York City's vast sewage treat ment program surged ahead in 1950, according to the 1950 Annual Report of the New York City Department of

Public Works. During the year work was underway on $54,000,000 of con

struction projects in various stages of

completion; design work was contin

ued on similar projects that will cost

about $30,000,000. The value of ac

tual construction work completed was more than $20,000,000. New construc

tion contracts totaling $13,000,000 were awarded.

The greatest impetus to the city's sewage treatment program was given

when legislation was enacted in July for the collection of a sewer service

charge amounting to one-third of the

water bill. Payment of operation and maintenance charges from this source

will free other funds for new con

struction.

The city, according to the report, is now well abreast of its commitments to

rid all its Class A waters (that is,

existing and potential bathing beaches) of pollution by 1953. It will also be

possible to meet the terms of the In

terstate Sanitation Commission's con sent order calling for treatment of all

New York City sewage by 1959. The 13 existing sewage treatment plants treat a little less than half of the 1,000

m.g.d. of liquid waste produced.

By the end of 1950 construction was 37 per cent complete on the $21,000,000

Hunts Point sewage treatment project, which will have a capacity of 120

m.g.d.; contracts for the $5,700,000 Rockaway sewage treatment plant were

21 per cent complete; and the $20,

000,000 Owls Head pollution control

project was 62 per cent complete. In

addition, the keel for the sludge ves

sel of the Owls Head project was laid

in November, 1950, with completion of

the $1,158,000 craft scheduled for late

in 1951.

Designs were completed and con

tracts readied for construction of the

$2,000,000 sewage treatment plant in

Port Richmond, Staten Island. Sew

age treatment plants under design in

cluded the $20,800,000 expansion of

the Bowery Bay plant and the $7,100, 000 Oakwood Beach project.

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