DeKalb officials propose 10% annual water and sewer rate hikes to fund multi‑billion‑dollar repairs

DeKalb County officials on Feb. 1 outlined a proposal to raise water and sewer rates by 10% annually for 10 years — the "10 by 10" plan — to fund a multiyear capital program intended to complete federal consent‑decree work and address decades of aging infrastructure.

At a specially called Public Works and Infrastructure Committee meeting, CEO Cochran Johnson told commissioners the county has reached a “pivotal moment” in the county’s water and sewer system and needs sustained funding to finish consent‑decree projects and reduce sewer spills. “It’s time to act,” she said.

The county and consultants from Arcadis described a capital plan that officials said totals more than $4 billion over a 10‑year horizon and would be financed primarily with new bonds, federal low‑interest loans (including WIFIA and GEFA), grants and rate revenue. Robert Ryle and Robert Bridal of Arcadis said the funding plan assumes phased capital spending that grows over the decade and requires persistent annual rate increases to meet bond covenants and support new borrowing.

Why it matters: County officials said key assets are old and increasingly fragile. Maria Houser, director of the Consent Decree and Environmental Compliance program, said DeKalb has spent about $1.25 billion since 2017 to repair water and sewer assets but still faces serious risks: more than 165 sewer spill sites have been addressed, about 90 miles of water mains replaced, and the system averages roughly 950 water main breaks per year. Houser said many of the county’s large transmission mains date to the mid‑20th century, and no new transmission mains have been constructed from the Scott Candler treatment plant since 1974. She warned that catastrophic failure of precast concrete transmission…