Special master finds water surcharge on Sandy Springs customers unjustified
Failures of the water system have prompted calls for lower rates and even calls for Sandy Springs to buy the portions of the water system that serve it Crews from the Atlanta Department of Watershed Management were at work on June to fix a broken valve that cut water organization to Sandy Springs and put it under a boil water advisory Jody Reichel ATL Watershed A ruling by a special master in Sandy Springs water rate lawsuit with the City of Atlanta may lead to residents getting their bills cut by percent or more Mayor Rusty Paul communicated on social media that the special master appointed in the lawsuit ruled in Sandy Springs favor The dispute was whether Atlanta Water can charge our citizens a surcharge for the water it supplies to Sandy Springs and the court discovered it is truly cheaper to provide water here than to virtually any other customers Paul mentioned in his post Thus the current surcharge is not justified The mayor disclosed the city expects a final order by the Superior Court that will open negotiations with Atlanta over the correct rates to charge Sandy Springs residents Paul disclosed Sandy Springs expects the ruling to reduce water rates by to percent The fight over water rates began before Sandy Springs became a city Sandy Springs gets its water from a water system owned and operated by Atlanta City Attorney Dan Lee declared in June that Atlanta has operated the water system in Sandy Springs without a formal agreement since the city s incorporation in State law requires an intergovernmental agreement for a city to deliver services outside of its city limits The previous agreement has expired In February Lee reported Sandy Springs shouldn t pay a water surcharge because it s cheaper to deliver water from the Johns Creek Healing Facility than Atlanta s Hemphill water plant He explained a surcharge is meant to cover added expenses Related stories Mayor says Atlanta water dispute in court Sandy Springs wants to avoid water problem with Atlanta-operated system Water rate dispute persists between Sandy Springs and AtlantaFormer Mayor Eva Galambos revealed in her State of the City address in after the city s first year that Sandy Springs residents paid percent more for water than Atlanta residents a theme that continued throughout her time in office The post Special master finds water surcharge on Sandy Springs customers unjustified appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta