Worcester County explains FY26 water and sewer rate changes after residents report large bills

WORCESTER COUNTY, Md. — Worcester County officials outlined the reasons for steep new water and sewer charges as residents and business owners described surprise at large bills during the county commissioners’ Dec. 2 meeting.

Public Works and county administration said the FY26 rate structure shifts usage charges to an EDU-based, tiered system to cover operations, increasing regulatory costs, and a backlog of deferred maintenance across 11 sanitary service areas. Staff said the county’s earlier practice of underfunding those enterprise funds left many systems unable to pay for needed capital work and regulatory testing.

Quinn and Bob Mitchell of Public Works said examples include emergency repairs and upgrades at the Ocean Pines plant (cleaning of Treatment Unit 4, broken mixer hardware) and new permit-driven testing for PFAS, which added tens of thousands of dollars in sampling costs. Mitchell said one PFAS testing change in Ocean Pines required 20 quarterly well tests at about $2,000 each. Staff also described a $4.6 million bonded replacement of a belt filter press at Ocean Pines as a near-term capital need.

Residents and businesses pushed back. Grama Reeves, representing Southgate Grill, provided copies of bills and argued recent rate and EDU changes produced large quarterly increases for commercial users, saying the county’s changes could create a sizable surplus on paper while shifting costs to ratepayers. Susan Age of Newark and Joe Gamm of Ocean Pines said bills had jumped substantially and that many residents had not received prior notice. Carrie, donor relations lead at Coastal Hospice, said her nonprofit’s water and sewage charges rose as much as 300% in one quarter despite falling usage.

Commissioners and staff acknowledged shortcomings in public outreach and said bills for some service areas were mailed late. Staff said they had held listening sessions earlier in the year and recommended an expanded rate study to refine long-term policy. They also described ongoing grant- and loan-seeking; Public Works said the county secured about $16.9 million for water and wastewater projects in the past four years and $3.6 million in low-interest loans.

On customer protections, Public Works staff explained the meter-check and grievance process: customers should first contact the Treasurer’s Office or Public Works to request a meter inspection; if the meter is suspected faulty, it can be tested (customers pay for tests that confirm the meter is accurate, the county covers tests that show a fault). For leaks documented by repair invoices, staff said the department will work to adjust bills to an average usage figure. Staff said further appeals could be escalated to the grievance committee and, ultimately, the commissioners.

County staff said FY26 rates bring fewer service areas operating at a loss than would have been the case under prior rates, but that several areas remain structurally challenged. Officials urged a longer rate study and said they were pursuing intergovernmental solutions such as additional Ocean City capacity transfers to reduce near-term capital needs.

The presentation ended with sustained commissioner questioning about notice, EDU turn-ins, accessibility fees for unconnected lots, and options to soften penalties for late payments. Commissioners said they did not want rate increases but felt they were necessary to avoid plant failures and comply with regulatory obligations.

The county said it will continue public outreach, pursue grants, and recommend a formal rate study to the commission; no changes to the adopted FY26 rates were announced at the meeting.