December 2021 Bill Insert: Sewer Use Charges

Your Sewer Use Fee at Work

The City of Omaha owns and operates the regional wastewater treatment system that serves residential, commercial, and industrial customers within the City of Omaha and for the majority of the metro area, including most of Douglas County and the areas within Sarpy county that fall within the Papillion Creek drainage area. The City operates two Water Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRF’s) and over 3000 miles of sanitary and combined sewers that collects the wastewater from the areas served.

The bills you pay into the City’s Sewer Revenue Fund provide for the operation and maintenance, along with needed capital improvements to the wastewater collection and treatment system. This in turn provides for the safe collection and disposal of sanitary sewage for Omaha and the metro area.

In 2010, the City began implementation of the Clean Solutions for Omaha (CSO! Program), an unfunded federal mandate that requires Omaha to reduce the overflows of raw sewage into the Missouri River and Papillion Creek and improve water quality to meet Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards by 2037. To date this program has successfully implemented upgrades that have reduced the impacts of overflows of sewage to the receiving streams by 50%.

Recently the City has completed a Wastewater Facilities Masterplan that has laid the foundation for upgrades that will be implemented at the two WRRF’s over the next 20 years, ensuring that these facilities will have the ability to meet the demands of a growing metro area and stricter federal guidelines for treatment.

Questions on your bill, or on the City of Omaha’s wastewater collection and treatment system, call: City of Omaha Environmental Quality at 402-444-3908.

How Your Omaha Residential Sewer Bill is Calculated

The City of Omaha sets sewer use rates and is responsible for the sewer system. The Metropolitan Utilities District (M.U.D.) is the billing agent that invoices and collects sewer use fees and provides them back to the City. The combined bill is a cost savings to both Omaha sewer users and M.U.D. ratepayers.

Residential sewer rates are the total of two charges:

1. Customer Charge (fixed monthly fee)
2. Flow Charge (varies with usage)

The monthly sewer use fee during the winter season is based on the actual amount of water used. For 2021, the winter season will encompass four billing cycles, starting with the M.U.D. December billing cycle and ending with the March billing cycle. The four winter billing cycles are averaged to determine a base monthly usage level that will be used during the non-winter period to calculate sewer fees. In some instances, the base monthly usage level may be reviewed and adjusted as appropriate.

During the non-winter period, from April’s billing cycle through November’s billing cycle, the sewer use fee is calculated by using either 1) the actual water use during that specific billing cycle or 2) the base monthly usage level (the average of the four winter billing cycles) whichever is less. Remember, your water use in the winter can impact your bills throughout the rest of the year.

Comparison of 2021 and 2022 Monthly Residential Sewer Bill

These rates apply only to residential customers within the City of Omaha and those in the unincorporated portion of Douglas County. Call 402-444-3908 for more information. Communities outside of Omaha which are part of the regional wastewater system will likely also see adjustments in their rates.

Ratepayer Assistance Program

A fund was established in 2011 to provide low-income customers with sewer use fee assistance. Residents who qualify for Nebraska’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) also qualify for sewer rate assistance. Since 2011, over $13.25 million in sewer assistance has been provided to residential ratepayers.

To see if you qualify for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), call the Nebraska Economic Assistance Omaha Office at 402-595-1258. https://www.accessnebraska.ne.gov/

Sewer Use Fee Contacts

Sewer use fee contacts in each jurisdiction of the metropolitan Omaha area:

City of Bellevue…………………………………….402-293-3135

City of Bennington………………………………402-238-2375

City of Gretna ………………………………………402-332-3336

City of LaVista ………………………………………402-331-4343

City of Omaha……………………………………..402-444-3908

City of Papillion …………………………………..402-597-2020

City of Ralston……………………………………….402-331-6677

Unincorporated Portions of Sarpy County ……..402-593-1555

City of Omaha

Public Works Department Services

Omaha Sewer Use Fees . . . . . . .402-444-3908
7:00AM – 3:30PM weekdays
Household Hazardous
Chemical Disposal . . . . . . . . . . . .402-444-7465
UnderTheSink: Open to Douglas and Sarpy County residents
www.underthesink.org
Dust or Mud from
Construction Site . . . . . . . . . . . . .402-444-3908
Report Spills or Dumping into Storm Inlets
www.omahastormwater.org . . .402-444-3908
Air Quality or Asbestos . . . . . . .402-444-6015
Sewer problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . .402-444-5332
Odor Complaints or
Manure Spills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .402-444-4919
Omaha Garbage, Recycling or
Yard Waste Collection
Complaints or Information . . . .402-444-5238
www.wasteline.org
Oma-Gro compost . . . . . . . . . . .402-444-6665
www.omagro.com
Snow Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .402-444-4919
Traffic Signal Not Working . . . .402-444-5160
Potholes, Curb Repairs, Debris
or Litter Blocking Street . . . . . . .402-444-4919
24-Hour Public Works Emergency
Response & Repairs . . . . . . . . . . .402-444-4919