4 ms·

> That's an absurdly high amount for what amounts to a visual compliance inspection in my opinion. This is really outside my wheelhouse, but I could see an arg

> That's an absurdly high amount for what amounts to a visual compliance inspection in my opinion. This is really outside my wheelhouse, but I could see an argument being made about the capacity of the larger system. E.g. The direct, marginal cost of installing service to your house is $200 to review the plans, send the guy out for an inspection etc. But the added capacity requirements of you and the 10 new houses in your development puts an upstream sewer out of capacity, costing $50,000 to upgrade. If you don't charge the full marginal cost through the whole system for the upgrade, either the rest of the city is subsidizing your marginal cost, or there's a significant monetary shortfall on the short (say 1-3 year) timeframe, and you'll hope a rate increase is approved to make up for it.

d110af5ccf 5y ago
It's an interesting point, but bear in mind that the scenarios raised in this and adjacent threads didn't involve subdividing but rather just hooking up an existing lot. One would hope that system capacity was at least sufficient for the lots that already existed when it went in. If there were a need to charge for capacity upgrades, it seems such things should be billed separately and explicitly. (My electric bill itemizes hookup, transmission, and generation among other things.) And absolutely none of it explains why septic should be disallowed!
- labawi 5y ago
  If the infrastructure is available, it had to be built, and someone paid for it. If there wasn't a hookup before, then it seems reasonable to pay the full share to recoup the investment, even if the line is right there. Otherwise the infrastructure investment would have to be paid by someone else, or from other taxes. These days, septic should be disallowed, if a reasonable sewer is available, as these days the effluents contain all kinds of toxic and non-degradable stuff that poisons the land and ground water. Over here, lossy septic tanks are illegal. You can either hookup to a sewer, treat your wastewater in situ via certified processes or, under some conditions, use a non-draining septic tank and have the wastewater treated.

d110af5ccf 5y ago

It's an interesting point, but bear in mind that the scenarios raised in this and adjacent threads didn't involve subdividing but rather just hooking up an existing lot. One would hope that system capacity was at least sufficient for the lots that already existed when it went in. If there were a need to charge for capacity upgrades, it seems such things should be billed separately and explicitly. (My electric bill itemizes hookup, transmission, and generation among other things.) And absolutely none of it explains why septic should be disallowed!

labawi 5y ago
If the infrastructure is available, it had to be built, and someone paid for it. If there wasn't a hookup before, then it seems reasonable to pay the full share to recoup the investment, even if the line is right there. Otherwise the infrastructure investment would have to be paid by someone else, or from other taxes. These days, septic should be disallowed, if a reasonable sewer is available, as these days the effluents contain all kinds of toxic and non-degradable stuff that poisons the land and ground water. Over here, lossy septic tanks are illegal. You can either hookup to a sewer, treat your wastewater in situ via certified processes or, under some conditions, use a non-draining septic tank and have the wastewater treated.