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The Wake Forest Gazette had only part of
the story last week when it reported
about the local rush to apply for
irrigation permits before July 2 when
the City of Raleigh began requiring a
second water meter.
The 93 applicants for
irrigation (plumbing) permits in June
wanted to avoid the much, much higher
costs.
In June, they paid the Wake
Forest Inspections Department $60 for
the permit, plus the cost to install the
system.
The permit cost is now
$2,518.14 if the City of Raleigh
installs the ¾-inch meter. If the
homeowner hires a contractor to install
the meter, the permit cost drops to
$1,918.14 but the homeowner also has to
obtain a right-of-way agreement between
the town and the city.
Most of the cost is the
$1,630.14 impact fee for the second tap.
For years, all new
construction in Wake Forest has paid
water and sewer impact fees based on the
number of bedrooms in new homes, and
there has always been an impact fee for
a second water tap to a structure.
Deputy Town Manager Roe
O’Donnell said a study done several
years ago showed the average use at the
second tap was 202 gallons per day. The
capacity charge for town water is $8.07,
leading to the $1,630.14 one-time impact
fee. “It was higher,” O’Donnell said of
the fee. “It was amended in 2000.”
People who want to install
the second meter for lawn irrigation
will also still pay $60 for the plumbing
permit; $178 for the second meter; and
$650 for the split service if the city
installs the meter. If you choose to use
a contractor instead, there is a $50
stub permit fee.
All of the money except the
$60 plumbing permit goes to the City of
Raleigh, which owns the town’s water and
sewer systems. The fees help to pay off
the estimated $19-million cost of the
utility merger.
The saving for homeowners
who do have the new split system and
second meter is that they are no longer
charged the monthly sewer charges for
the water that goes on their lawn and
bushes.
The requirement for a
separate irrigation meter and the costs
will impact future residential building
in the town. O’Donnell said builders
could choose to include irrigation as
they do now and pass the cost along to
the buyers.
Last month the town board
approved a policy strongly discouraging
lawn and plant irrigation in new
development of all types and encouraging
current property owners and residents to
eliminate or reduce the use of treated
municipal water for outside irrigation.
The Comprehensive Planning
Committee, two commissioners and two
planning board members who review all
development requests and make
recommendations to the full town board,
come close to strong-arming developers
who are reluctant to use wells or ponds
for irrigation or forego it entirely.
Successful developers now usually
approach the CPC with a list of water
conservation measures and alternative
sources for any irrigation. |
