THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 1995 TAG: 9510270224
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANCIE LATOUR, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
It's not a yes or no choice, only a choice about how much.
That is probably the most important thing for voters to understand about the upcoming $72.5 million bond referendum Nov. 7, said Joann Clark, who serves on the city's utility bond committee.
Chesapeake is preparing to borrow money to bring its main water source - the Northwest River Treatment Plant - in line with new federal regulations and with citizens' demands for an end to briny, sodium-rich water.
But voters shouldn't fool themselves thinking their ballots will influence whether the city moves ahead with these plans, Clark said.
``They need to understand that the city is going to go forward with this project no matter how the citizens vote,'' Clark said. ``The improvements are a given. It's just a question of how the city spends the money that is an issue.''
Localities have until July 1, 1998, to comply with the stricter, sweeping amendments to drinking water laws passed by Congress in 1986 under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
A ``yes'' vote from citizens would allow the city to borrow the money at a lower interest rate. Without the kind of ``full-faith'' collateral that comes with voter approval, Chesapeake would be forced to borrow more money and repay it at a higher interest rate, pushing the total cost of the project from $72.5 million to $78 million.
Budget officials have compared that $6 million gap in savings to the difference between a mortgage, with the property as collateral, and a loan based on an unsecured line of credit, like a credit card. Since the mortgage involves less risk to the investor, the interest charged is lower.
Clark said that the cost of the project won't be the only thing to go up if the referendum is denied.
``If this doesn't go through,'' Clark said, ``we're talking about another rate increase of $3. That's in addition to the $2.10 already in place.''
On Oct. 1, the city raised the average bimonthly water and sewer bill for residents by $2.10 to help pay for improvements at the treatment plant and other water projects.
The Safe Drinking Water Act, passed in 1974, requires water suppliers to filter out more chemical and bacterial pollutants found in trace amounts in the city's water.
According to public utility officials, Chesapeake's solution, a reverse osmosis system, will not only meet those strict federal standards, but will also remove the salt that has plagued the city's water since June and in summers past.
Meeting the new rules will mean a loss of about 3 million of the 10 million gallons of water Chesapeake draws every day for treatment. The new filters to be put in place are so fine that some of the water won't get through and will be left as a briny concentration destined for disposal in the Elizabeth River.
To make up for the lost water, the city will add four new wells: three along Battlefield Boulevard and one inside the plant itself. by CNB