By Betsy Brewer Brantner
Contributing Writer

The Oxford Borough Water Department is responsible for providing potable drinking water to the borough’s residents, which is no small deal these days. Operating a water department is also no small feat for a municipality, as big water companies are trying to snatch up small municipal water departments whenever they can.

The borough sources its water from a combination of the Chester Water Authority and local wells and owns a water treatment plant and a transmission, production, storage, and distribution water system serving Oxford.

The borough does also source a small portion of their water supply from Chester Water Authority (CWA). Aqua, a large company, has a desire to buy the Chester Water Authority. Understandably, the Borough of Oxford is concerned how the possible purchase of CWA by Aqua would impact the borough’s residents. Currently the borough is pursuing new wells which would diversify its water sources. Because of that, the borough has conducted a water rate study and a capital needs assessment. The borough is also soliciting bids for new water meters. To the credit of borough officials, Oxford is keeping an eye of the cost of water, and taking steps to limit the cost to residents.

The cost includes, but is not limited to, the responsibility for operating and managing the water system, which is staffed by three certified public water operators, including the Public Works supervisor. Those employees are responsible for all permitting, testing requirements, and mandated reporting requirements related to the operation. 

Becoming a certified water operator requires constant testing and knowledge of water treatment. A certified operator is a guardian of public health and the environment. The certified operator must meet the requirements of the Operator Certification Program. Some of the more important requirements include the following:

• Make or implement appropriate process control decisions, or take or direct actions related to process control decisions for specific water or wastewater systems;
• Successfully complete the required continuing education;
• Make timely application for certification renewal;
• Report to the system owner any known violations or system conditions that may be or are causing violations of any DEP regulation or permit condition or requirement;
• Provide for the suitable operation and maintenance of a water or wastewater system utilizing available resources needed to comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations, and permit conditions and requirements;
• Approve in writing Standard Operations Plans (SOPs).

Billing and other administrative tasks are handled by borough personnel. The Water Fund funds a pro-rated portion of the workforce costs.  The Water Department has achieved operating surpluses (before transfers for capital needs) every year since 2018. However, accounting for capital transfers, expenses have exceeded revenues in two of the last five years in Oxford. The department’s primary revenue source comes from water usage fees, which are quarterly fees paid by borough residents and business owners. The most recent fee increase was in 2019 when rates were raised by 10 percent. The department also charges water tapping fees for making connections to main water lines. These fees vary on a year-to-year basis based on development activity, but have averaged about $63,000 since 2018. The fund also benefits from minimal grant support and other miscellaneous revenues. The department’s primary operating expense (prior to capital transfers) is personnel, which average about 40 percent of the department’s costs. The department is staffed by Public Works employees whose expenses are allocated to the department and paid by water-related revenue based on the percentage of their time dedicated to water-related activities.

Other big ticket items like maintenance of the water department facility also factor into the budget. And another, often overlooked, but vital piece of the transference of water, is the water mains.

When a customer turns on their faucet, they expect potable water on demand. But seldom do customers realize everyone and everything that is involved in simply bringing that cup of water into the home.

Water departments also must adhere to the rules and regulations of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

DEP's Office of Water Programs administers and oversees departmental programs involving surface and groundwater quantity and quality planning, and soil and water conservation. The office also coordinates policies, procedures, and regulations.  These can influence public water supply withdrawals, sewage facilities planning, point source municipal and industrial discharges, and more. The policies and regulations can also impact encroachments upon waterways and wetlands, dam safety, earth disturbance activities and control of stormwater and non-point source pollution. 

In addition, the Office of Water Programs also coordinates the planning, design and construction of flood protection and stream improvement projects.

The mission of EPA is to protect human health and the environment.

The EPA works to ensure that Americans have clean air, land and water, that national efforts to reduce environmental risks are based on the best available scientific information, and federal laws protecting human health and the environment are administered and enforced fairly, effectively and as Congress intended.

Environmental stewardship is integral to U.S. policies concerning natural resources, human health, economic growth, energy, transportation, agriculture, industry, and international trade, and these factors are similarly considered in establishing environmental policy.

The EPA also works to make sure that all parts of society—communities, individuals, businesses, and state, local and tribal governments—-have access to accurate information sufficient to effectively participate in managing human health and environmental risks.

It is the EPA that ensures that contaminated lands and toxic sites are cleaned up by potentially responsible parties and revitalized, and that chemicals in the marketplace are reviewed for safety.

How the EPA controls the responsibilities doesn’t come without a price tag. It is not unusual for small municipalities to have their budgets impacted with one unfunded mandate from the state or federal government.

One of those mandates that Oxford Borough is dealing with is the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) regulations that refer to the collection of structures designed to gather stormwater and discharge it into local streams and rivers.

Oxford Borough is not the only municipality looking for help in financing MS4 costs. Those mandates passed down to state and local government from the federal government relate to the Chesapeake Bay and are beginning to pinch local municipalities. These requirements, known as MS4 and the Chesapeake Bay Compact, require that sediment and nitrates be reduced by a further 10-percent over a five-year period. That is a steep reduction that can cost local municipalities millions.

The Borough of Oxford saw the writing on the wall and started working on this in the fall of 2023.The borough began a series of long-term planning initiatives and improvements to the borough water system, including development of a 10-year capital plan and completion of a water rate study. These efforts are meant to ensure the sustainability of Oxford’s  water department as a publicly owned utility. 

In December 2023, Oxford was awarded a $600,000 grant through the PA H2O Program to support an upgrade to the borough water meters. In the coming months the borough will replace outdated Positive Displacement Meters with Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) meters and software. After a public bidding process, Oxford Borough Council awarded the meter contract to Rio Supply, Inc., a vendor for Neptune Automated meters at the regularly scheduled meeting on June 3.

For residents and property owners, this upgrade will save money over time, enhance the delivery services and improve the customer experience. The borough will be able to alert water customers to sudden spikes in water use that may indicate a water leak, affording the customer an opportunity to fix it before incurring hefty water and sewer bills. 

The meter change will begin soon, so all water customers should be aware of this. Attending borough council meetings would be one way to understand what will be happening. The borough is working with the Rio through the processes and work required before the installation timeline is confirmed, and they will begin providing more specific information to residents and property owners. Depending on what type of meter a customer has, it might be necessary to schedule a time with the customer to access their home or building to change the meter. More information will be available soon.

David Busch, a consultant with Keystone Alliance Consulting, is working with the borough on this issue to ensure that Oxford has enough money to pay for the operation of the water department. Gannett Fleming Consultants has also worked on a study to initiate a capital water plan.

Busch confirmed that one goal of the study is also to promote equity among all rate payers.

“As we adjust the rate, if the water department does that, doesn’t mean all people are going to get the same increase. We will promote equity among all rate payers,” Busch said.

Oxford Borough Manager Pauline Garcia-Allen said, “We are hopeful that potential changes will be made in the coming year, not before 2025. We plan to ensure that any changes we make are fair and not burdensome to property owners and residents.”

Residents with any questions are encouraged to call the borough office at 610-932-2500.