King County wants to charge higher wastewater rates

King County has proposed increasing wastewater rates in 2011 by just over 10.2 percent.

King County has proposed increasing wastewater rates in 2011 by just over 10.2 percent.

The wholesale rate change would increase from $31.90 to $35.15 per month.

The city would pass that increase through to Bellevue customers, along with the amount needed to operate and maintain Bellevue’s wastewater-collection system.

The average wastewater rate for a Bellevue residential customer is $54.62 per month.

King County has also proposed a 2.8 percent increase in the “capacity charge” for homeowners with new sewer hookups, raising the rate from $49.90 to $50.45 per month in 2011.

Most of the proposed increase would pay for continued construction of the $1.8 billion Brightwater waste treatment system.