Lower Merion Township, PA
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- A sanitary sewer rent bill is for water discharged from your property from any drain into the Township's sanitary sewer system. Your sanitary sewer rent bill should arrive during the first week of June. The bill is based on your prior year's water consumption as reported by Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc. If you have not received a bill by the end of the first week of June, please call the Finance Department at 610-645-6144. Refer to the front of your bill for due dates and the bottom of your bill for important general information.
This bill is calculated based on your water consumption as reported by AQUA PA. If your bill does not match your AQUA water consumption, please contact the Finance department at (610) 645-6144.
- No, mortgage companies do not pay the Sanitary Sewer bill. You must pay the bill as you would any other utility bill (water, electric, etc.). Please do not rely on your mortgage company to pay this bill, as you may miss the discount period and become delinquent.
- To receive a credit for water that fills your swimming pool or feeds your irrigation system, you must have a Special Meter attached to the water line that supplies the pool or irrigation system. This meter must be installed by a plumber at your expense. When you call your plumber, ask for a Deduct Water Meter. Installation charges vary based on the plumber and equipment. This meter must be registered before use with a member of our Sanitary Sewer Division. Please see the FAQs for more information on the Special Meter program and registering your meter.
The box labeled Unsewered shows the gallonage that has been credited. That amount is subtracted from your Total usage, the result of which is the Net amount.
After you register, you will receive a postcard around January. The card that you receive in the mail will have your Special Meter’s location, brand name, and serial number indicated. Read the rolling dials on that meter, and write them on the card or enter them into the online form. Be careful to read the Special Meter and not the main House Meter.
The main House Meter has a Black plastic piece on the DIAL and a wire that runs outside. This is not the Special Meter, do not report that reading. This is the main water meter for the entire house. The Special Meter will not have the black plastic piece on the dial and it will not have a wire.
If you are having trouble reading your Special Meter, please call Jerry at 610-645-6129.
I forgot to turn in my card with the meter reading/I haven’t turned in a reading for a few years. Can I still get credit?
If you forget to submit a reading for 1-2 years you will be allowed to submit a reading and get up to a 2-year credit. However, your credit cannot be more than your current year’s usage, and you will still be required to pay at least the minimum bill (20.0 k/gal). To ensure that you receive full credit, submit a reading every year prior to the deadline specified on the postcard you receive.
If it has been more than 3 years since you submitted a reading, you will be removed from the system and will need to re-register with the current meter reading. That reading will be treated as an initial reading and you will not get credit for the years that you did not report readings.
Because water consumption varies by home, the best way to determine whether a Special Meter would be a good choice for you is to look at your quarterly water usage. If you see a significant spike in usage in the 3rd quarter, and somewhat elevated usage in Q4, chances are some of that water is being used for filling a pool and/or watering the landscaping in the summer months.
To calculate your potential savings, use Q1 and Q2 as your baseline and calculate the average of those 2 numbers. Then, normalize your usage across all 4 quarters to see how much water is potentially unsewered.
Example 1: Spike in Q3, slight elevation in Q4.
Q1 & Q2 average 15.5 k/gal. Estimated unsewered consumption 32.3 k/gal in Q3 (47.8 - 32.2 = 15.5) and 10.7 k/gal in Q4 (26.2 – 10.7 = 15.5). Total estimated unsewered usage 43 k/gal. 43 x 4.51
Qtr 1
Qtr 2
Qtr 3
Qtr 4
Total
Rate
13.0
18.1
47.8
26.2
105.1
$4.51
In this example, the bill prior to the installation of a Special Meter would be the Total k/gallonage multiplied by the Rate, 105.1 x $4.51 = $474.00. With a Special Meter, assuming a meter reading of 43 k/gal, the unsewered amount would be subtracted from the bill as follows. 105.1 - 43 = 62.1 x 4.51 = $280.07. This would be a savings of $193.93. Depending on the cost of the meter and installation, this meter would likely pay for itself in just a couple of years.
Example 2: stable usage, no significant savings
Qtr 1
Qtr 2
Qtr 3
Qtr 4
Total
Rate
15.5
18.9
16.7
17.5
68.6
$4.51
In this example, the water consumption is stable across all 4 quarters. This resident likely does not do a significant amount of exterior watering or have a pool. They would not realize any savings by installing a Special Meter.
Once you have the meter installed, please complete this form. If you prefer to print and mail the form, you may do so by printing this form. You must register your meter and report an annual reading to receive credit for the unsewered water. At the beginning of next year, a Special Meter Reading card will be mailed to you. You will return the card with a current reading and the usage will be deducted from the next sanitary sewer rent bill.
No, we cannot issue a retroactive credit without a Special Meter reading. Per the Township Code §126-12, and Ord. No. 1842, “the quantity of water so used and not discharged into the Township sewers must be measured by a device or devices approved by the Director of Public Works and installed without cost to the Township.”
If your question is related to payment of the bill, call the Township Treasurer's Office at 610-645-6181.
If your question is related to the water consumption at your home, contact AQUA PA.
If your question is about the sewer itself (permits, connections, etc.), contact the Sanitary Sewer Division of Public Works.
For other questions related to the sewer bill, contact sewer@lowermerion.org or call 610-645-6144.
- The current sanitary sewer rate is $4.51 per thousand gallons of water consumption.