Getting It Right: A Study of Cost of Service Wastewater Treatment Allocations

The Fort Worth Water Department (FWWD) charges its wholesale wastewater customers based on unit costs for flow, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and total suspended solids (TSS). The amount each customer pays depends on the flow and strength it contributes. To determine the unit cost to treat 1,000 gallons of wastewater flow and one pound each of BOD and TSS, we allocate the treatment costs to these components.FWWD's wholesale rates were based an outdated and undocumented analysis of the wastewater treatment plant. Red Oak Consulting completed an analysis of the plant to update the allocations of capital and operating and maintenance (O&M) costs.This presentation will describe the analysis process, findings, and recommendations. We will identify any problems that occurred during the study and discuss how these were addressed. Finally, we will compare the fiscal year 2012 wholesale wastewater rates using the recommended allocations and the previous allocations for FWWD.