Gloucester County Attorney Office, 7400 Justice Dr, Ste 230, Gloucester, VA 23061, US

James City Service Authority - Background The James City Service Authority (JCSA) is a public body politic and corporate of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The JCSA was created in 1969 by the James City County Board of Supervisors pursuant to the Virginia Water and Sewer Authorities Act (Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended). The JCSA was created to acquire, construct, operate and maintain, to the extent determined by the JCSA to be financially feasible, an integrated water system and an integrated sewer collection system in James City County. The Board of Directors is appointed by the Board of Supervisors, and since 1976, the Board of Supervisors has appointed its members as Directors of the JCSA to more fully coordinate JCSA activities with those of the County in the planning and development of utility systems. The Board of Directors has authorized water and sewer operations for the JCSA within the Primary Service Area (PSA) in the County. The JCSA also provides water and/or sewer service to limited sections of York County and the City of Williamsburg with the concurrence of the appropriate governing bodies. The JCSA's water system includes the central water system with 10 water production facilities and seven independent water production facilities that are located outside the PSA. There are approximately 344 miles of water transmission and distribution lines throughout the entire system. The water system facilities supply approximately 5.0 million gallons of water per day to 19, 368 water customers. The JCSA's sewer system includes 77 pump stations with approximately 382 miles of sewer collection lines. The sewer system facilities collect and move approximately 4.7 million gallons of sewage per day for 18, 860 sewer customers. The JCSA has no sewage treatment facilities. Sewage treatment for areas served by the JCSA, as well as for other Hampton Roads communities, is provided by the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD). As of June 30, 2010, the JCSA had 90 full-time employees with the responsibility to operate and maintain its utility facilities and lines. The JCSA's operating funds are self-supporting, and the JCSA receives no share of any local or property tax levies. The Board of Directors has the sole power to set water and sewer utility rates and related fees. The Board of Directors adopted an inverted-block or inclining rate structure in 1996 for fiscal year 1997 for residential customers which incorporates a unit charge that increases with increasing consumption. The primary objective of establishing the inverted-block rate structure was to reduce water use, particularly from large-volume residential customers. On July 1, 2008, the residential water consumption service charge was set at the first block for $2.85 per 1, 000 gallons for less than 15, 000 gallons consumed per quarter, the second block was set at $3.45 per 1, 000 gallons for more than 15, 000 gallons but less than 30, 000 gallons consumed per quarter, and a third block was set at $9.80 per 1, 000 gallons for more than 30, 000 gallons consumed per quarter. Commercial and industrial customers were set at a flat or uniform rate structure of $3.45 per 1, 000 gallons. The sewer service charge for all categories of customers was set at $2.80 per 1, 000 gallons. The JCSA currently has groundwater permits for its central system to withdraw 8.9 million gallons per day to support the residential and commercial customers. With the current rate of growth, it is estimated this amount of water will meet the County's needs through 2013. The JCSA entered into an agreement with Newport News to purchase 5 million gallons of water per day to meet the County's water needs through 2040. In addition, the JCSA is coordinating numerous water system improvements to accommodate the water made available to the JCSA system from Newport News. Water conservation is an important component of meeting the future water needs.