Information & Policies

The GHJSA charges Sewage Treatment Fees for all customers in the service area. Because the GHJSA now owns the Sewage Collection Systems in the City of Hazleton and Borough of West Hazleton, an additional fee for Sewage Transmission is charged to all customers in the City and Borough. (City and Borough Customers have two (2) charges on each bill; All other customers have one (1) charge)

Sewage Treatment Rates – All GHJSA Customers

The GHJSA currently levies Sewage Treatment Fees which are generally uniform. Residential customers and commercial flat rate customers pay a rate of $96.75 per quarter effective July 31, 2018. Industrial customers and commercial metered customers pay a rate based on water consumption, with the charge of $96.75 per quarter for the first 13,500 gallons of water use, and $7.17 per thousand gallons over 13,500 gallons. Industrial users may be surcharged based on the strength of the discharge. A typical residential user pays Sewage Treatment charges of $387.00 per year per EDU. Residential and commercial customers are billed quarterly and industrial customers are billed monthly.

Sewage Transmission Rates – Hazleton City and West Hazleton Borough Only

The GHJSA currently levies Sewage Transmission Fees which are generally uniform. Residential customers and commercial flat rate customers pay a rate of $32.25 per quarter effective July 31, 2018. Industrial customers and commercial metered customers pay a rate based on water consumption, with the charge of $32.25 per quarter for the first 13,500 gallons of water use, and $2.39 per thousand gallons over 13,500 gallons. Industrial users may be surcharged based on the strength of the discharge. A typical residential user pays Sewage Transmission charges of $129.00 per year per EDU. Residential and commercial customers are billed quarterly and industrial customers are billed monthly.

High Strength Waste Surcharge – Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional Customers

The GHJSA adopted Resolution 004 of 2015, which is an amended rate resolution, establishing special user surcharge rates, fees, and charges for discharge of high strength waste to the sewage disposal system owned and operated by the GHJSA. The surcharge shall be applied to non-residential customers who discharge waste with characteristics in concentrations greater than typical domestic strength concentrations for residential users. Typical domestic strength is defined as waste that does not exceed the following conventional pollutants:

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)     200 mg/L

Total Suspended Solids (TSS)     200 mg/L

Total Nitrogen (TN)     30mg/L

Total Phosphorus (TP)      5 mg/L

Computation of the surcharge is contained in Resolution 004 of 2015 and the current surcharge rate, which is the most recent 3-year average, can be viewed in the current High Strength Wastewater Surcharge Study.

Additional Fees and Charges

Penalty for Late Payment

Delinquent accounts are charged an additional sum of ten percent (10%) of the unpaid balance. In the event of serious delinquency, the Authority has the ability to terminate water service and to file liens on the delinquent property.

Lien Fee                                                 $300.00 per property

Return Check Fee                                  $20.00 per check or ACH returned by bank for any reason

Posting Fee                                            $20.00 for each property posted with a Water Shut-off Notice

Termination of Water Service                 $40.00 per service disconnection due to non-payment