The Newtown, Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority (NBCJMA) serves 9,000 sanitary sewer customers in Newtown Township and Newtown Borough. NBCIMA’s system consists of 101 miles of gravity sewers and 2,630 manholes and eight metering sites. The Authority maintains five wastewater pumping stations and more than 50 easements in our area.

Officials in Newtown Township and Newtown Borough incorporated the Authority in 1961. The Newtown Township Supervisors and Newtown Borough Council each appoint three members to serve a 5-year term on the NBCJMA board. The Authority has only increased rates 12 times during its 63-year history.

The Authority no longer operates a wastewater treatment plant. NBCJMA closed its facility in 1988.
At the time, the PADEP was a proponent of regionalization and at the time it was considerably less expensive for the Authority to become a wholesale customer of the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority (BCWSA) and discharge wastewater through the BCWSA Neshaminy Interceptor for treatment in Philadelphia.

The Authority is confident that a brand-new, state-of-the-art plant could be built to better serve our customers’ needs in the long term. Our current operating structure puts our Authority – and our customers – at the mercy of uncontrolled sewer rate increases levied by the BCWSA and the City of Philadelphia.
Constructing our own wastewater treatment plant would benefit the environment by reducing the load on the BCWSA system and the City’s system, which both experience overflows. BCWSA serves as the conveyance system while the City of Philadelphia treats flow from our customers. As a wholesale customer of these entities, our board has no say over rate increases passed along to us and our ratepayers. In addition, BCWSA’s multi-million-dollar infrastructure upgrades and maintenance costs are shared by its wholesale customers, often with little notice of significant cost hikes and no input.

In 2023, BCWSA instituted the first of three planned rate increases for its wholesale customers, which amounted to a 16.6 percent rate hike, an increase, that we, unfortunately, had to pass on to our customers along with a nominal 3.4 percent increase to cover the normal growth in Authority operating costs in an inflationary environment. We do not yet know the full impact of subsequent BCWSA increases, but our board is anticipating more double-digit levies. In addition, as treatment plant upgrades and long-term control plans are needed by the City of Philadelphia, we foresee additional uncontrollable rate increases from that entity as well.
As was the case in 1988 when we terminated our plant operations, the NBCJMA board remains committed to keeping our customers’ rates as low as possible. Operating our own treatment plant will provide our Authority with better oversight to properly plan and budget for necessary repairs and maintenance, while maintaining competitive, self-controlled rates.

The Authority plans to construct a state-of-the-art plant with a minimum 30-year lifespan. This cutting-edge technology effectively removes 98% of solids, ensuring that residue is not distributed throughout the plant and therefore ensures better affluency. Given the high-quality technology used in its construction and operation, the Authority is confident that the plant will require less maintenance over the long term.

NBCJMA’s current flows are 2 million gallons per day. The new wastewater treatment plant will have a 2.5 million gallons per day capacity with the potential to expand to address the community’s future wastewater needs.

NBCJMA is NOT considering selling its sewer assets to a public company or other entity. In order to keep rates as low as possible, it’s important for our system to be publicly owned. Our board is made up of ratepayers who are committed to best serving the public, rather than stockholders seeking to make profits.
Even with the most recent 20% rate increase from BCWSA, our customers pay $82 per quarter for the first 10,000 gallons. Since Lower Makefield’s sewer system was purchased, their customers now pay $204.18 per quarter – nearly 250% more than our customers – for the first 10,000 gallons.

The Authority recently acquired a 17.5-acre parcel between the Newtown Bypass and Lower Silver Lake Road as a future site for a brand-new wastewater treatment plant. Our board will ensure plenty of distance from residences, as well as additional buffering.

Given the local and state approval needed for this project, as well as the need to complete building renderings, a cost analysis and construction, we anticipate the plant being constructed and operational within five to seven years.

The Authority plans to issue municipal bonds or other bank borrowing, which would be repaid over a specific number of years, to cover the cost of the project. Since the Authority currently has no long-term debt, our financial professionals see no issue with borrowing for this long-term project. This is the typical way all communities finance major capital projects and has been used for decades.

In an effort to provide the utmost transparency throughout this process, the Authority is beginning its outreach to customers in these early stages and will continue to provide updates as this project evolves.
For 2025, the Authority projects an increase in rates from $82 to $120.54 per quarter for the 10,000 gallon minimum, which equates to less than 43 cents per day for an average billing quarter.

The Authority’s projected rate increases are in line with, and in most cases less costly than what customers in neighboring municipalities are currently paying. Northampton, Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority, for instance, charges $93.75 per month for 7,000 gallons and Pennsylvania American Water charges a flat fee of $106 monthly per equivalent dwelling unit. Meanwhile, our Authority anticipates $120.54 per quarter beginning in 2025, which amounts to an increase that is less than 43 cents per day.
While future rate modifications are inevitable due to funding needed to build the new wastewater treatment plant, our Authority board is comprised of customers just like you. As such, we will work diligently to manage the impact of future rate increases in conjunction with the new wastewater treatment plant and beyond.