HHNA

Generally, the transfer seems to be in the best interest of the neighborhood.  However, the Public Service Commission will no longer be involved in protecting our interest and we will become subject to metered water rates, and liabilities of the County Utility Authority.  We need the HOA to intervene.

The JCUA web site reported on 2/3/16 that it sold $30.4M in bonds with maturity of 2040 and interest rate of 3.56%, i.e. annual interest cost of $1,083,664, to purchase to acquire a private utlity [read that St. Andrews Water and Sewer], necessary improvements to the wastewater treatment plants, and fund projects. It also announced it has a S&P bond rating of "A" but the bonds had to be supported by insurance.The next meeting of the JCUA is March 14.

On 2-1-16, JCUA stated it is audited annually.  Additionally, it stated:

There are also accusations the JCUA is charging too much to the cities for their sewage treatment.
The amount the cities are charged is based on a three-year average of the amount of sewage each sends to the JCUA treatment facilities. Based on a cost per 1000 gallons, in 2011 the cost
was $2.35 per 1000 gallons, 2012 it was $2.11, in 2013 it was $1.99, in 2014 it was $1.84, in 2015 it was $2.69, and in 2016 it is $2.94. The reason the rates were lower in 2011 thru 2014 was due
to grant money the JCUA received to subsidize needed repairs, upgrades, and sewer infrastructure in the amount of $48 million the cities did not have to cover. In 2015, the grant
money was gone and the full rate was being passed on to the cities. The cities all determine their billing differently so it is hard to tell how much they are adding to what JCUA charges to cover
their expenses for their part of the collection system.

With regards to sewage flow, there is and has always been an issue with inflow and Infiltration of storm water into the sewage system. This happens whenever there is a heavy rain event. For
example, at one sewage plant the average flow is 4 to 5 million gallons per day. During a heavy rain event such as what we had during the week of Christmas, the flow peaked at over 28 million
gallons per day. That is because rain water is intruding into the wastewater system and that is why you see sewage flowing out of manhole covers in the streets such as the Ford Ave. incident
in Pascagoula which was reported in the Sun Herald. The JCUA has to treat whatever is sent to the plants, thus the JCUA treats tremendous amounts of rain water and the rate payers have to
pay for that.

Let me try to reformat the last post:

On 2-1-16, JCUA stated it is audited annually.  Additionally, it stated:

There are also accusations the JCUA is charging too much to the cities for their sewage treatment. The amount the cities are charged is based on a three-year average of the amount of sewage each sends to the JCUA treatment facilities. Based on a cost per 1000 gallons, in 2011 the cost was $2.35 per 1000 gallons, 2012 it was $2.11, in 2013 it was $1.99, in 2014 it was $1.84, in 2015 it was $2.69, and in 2016 it is $2.94. The reason the rates were lower in 2011 thru 2014 was due to grant money the JCUA received to subsidize needed repairs, upgrades, and sewer infrastructure in the amount of $48 million the cities did not have to cover. In 2015, the grant money was gone and the full rate was being passed on to the cities. The cities all determine their billing differently so it is hard to tell how much they are adding to what JCUA charges to cover their expenses for their part of the collection system.

With regards to sewage flow, there is and has always been an issue with inflow and Infiltration of storm water into the sewage system. This happens whenever there is a heavy rain event. For example, at one sewage plant the average flow is 4 to 5 million gallons per day. During a heavy rain event such as what we had during the week of Christmas, the flow peaked at over 28 million gallons per day. That is because rain water is intruding into the wastewater system and that is why you see sewage flowing out of manhole covers in the streets such as the Ford Ave. incident in Pascagoula which was reported in the Sun Herald. The JCUA has to treat whatever is sent to the plants, thus the JCUA treats tremendous amounts of rain water and the rate payers have to pay for that.