FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ABOUT THE REGIONAL SEWER UTILITY BILLING
- What Does My Bill Pay For?
- What Is the Current Rate of My Bill?
- Where Should I Send My Bill Payment?
- Can I Pay My Bill In Person?
- Can I Pay My Bill Online, by Phone, or by Credit Card?
- How Much Are Businesses Billed for Service?
- What Is My Account Balance?
- I Received a Bill from My Local Municipality for Sewer Service and One from the CCMUA. How Come I Have Two Bills?
- If I Sell My House, How Can I Settle My CCMUA Account?
- Why Not Bill on a Flow Basis?
- What Is Debt Service?
- What Is This About a Zero Growth Budget?
- I Am a Senior Citizen Living on a Fixed Income. Am I Entitled to a Discount?
- How do I report a sewer odor complaint?
![[What about...]](gifs/whatabot.gif)
WHAT DOES MY BILL PAY FOR?
Our bill covers the operation, maintenance and construction cost of over $850 million dollars in state of the art wastewater treatment facilities. This includes an 80 Million Gallon (303 Million Liter) per Day (mgd) Treatment Plant in Camden, a 2.25 mgd (8.5 million liter) plant in Winslow Township, and 26 Pumping Stations along with 110 miles (175 kilometers) of pipeline interceptors. Every property connected to the sewer system in Camden County receives our service. 70% of the bill pays for debt service. This is the interest and principal payment on the funds which have been borrowed to construct the Wastewater Treatment Facilities. The remaining 30% pays the operation, maintenance, & administration cost of providing wastewater treatment to your property.The primary reason for the mandated regional sanitary sewage system was to protect human health. Let us tell you more about what we do to protect public health and the environment!
WHAT IS THE CURRENT RATE OF MY BILL?
The rate is still $78.75 per quarter for most customers. Your quarterly CCMUA bill has not changed since 2000. Thanks to a continuing effort by commissioners and staff to reduce the costs and the user rate paid by our customers, the rate is less now than it was in 1996.
WHERE SHOULD I SEND MY BILL PAYMENT?
Payments for regional sewer service should be mailed to:
CAMDEN COUNTY MUA
PO BOX 1105
BELLMAWR NJ 08099-5105
Make your check payable to:
Camden County M.U.A.
CAN I PAY MY BILL IN PERSON?
Yes! There are several locations in Camden County where you can make bill payments in person.
Camden County Store
Echelon Mall
Mon. - Fri. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Checks Only
Camden County Store
Cherry Hill Mall
Mon. - Fri. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Checks Only
Camden County Service Center at South County Library
35 Coopers Folly Road
Winslow, NJ
Monday - Friday
11 A.M. - 6 P.M.
Closed Saturday and Sunday
Checks Only
CCMUA Administration Building
1645 Ferry Avenue
Camden
Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
CAN I PAY MY BILL ON LINE OR BY CREDIT CARD?
The CCMUA can now accept payments deducted from your bank account. You can make these payments 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can pay either over the Internet or by phoning 1-800-966-7995.
Costs to the CCMUA for processing online payments are significantly higher than the cost of processing checks. There is a $1.75 fee for this service. The fee is paid directly to the company which processes the payments. It has been decided that the extra cost of this service should not be charged to customers who do not use the service.
In addition, if your bank offers online payment services, we can accept payments made through your bank or other financial institution. Contact your bank to set up this type of payment.
Of course you will continue to have the option of paying by check through the mail, at a County Store, or at the CCMUA Administration Building. Cash payments can be accepted only at our Administration Building at 1645 Ferry Avenue, Camden.
HOW MUCH ARE BUSINESSES BILLED FOR SERVICE?
The billing rate for businesses is determined by the schedule of rates. The schedule of rates assigns an adjusted number of EDUs (Equivalent Dwelling Units) based on the size and type of business.
WHAT IS MY ACCOUNT BALANCE?
Call our main phone number at 541-3700. Dial Extension #1451 from our main menu. Enter your nine (9) digit account number, listen to your Block, Lot, Account Balance, Additional Interest and Next Quarters Charge. You can use this system during regular business hours, after hours or on holidays or weekends. This information is exactly the same as our customer service staff can provide to you.
I RECEIVED A BILL FROM MY LOCAL MUNICIPALITY FOR SEWER SERVICE AND
ONE FROM THE CCMUA. HOW COME I HAVE TWO BILLS?
The CCMUA is responsible for transporting your wastewater via pipeline (regional interceptor) from one location within your community to a modern wastewater treatment facility on the Delaware River. At this facility wastewater from all over Camden County receives the best treatment that modern technology can provide.
Your municipality is responsible for the collection system within your town, which includes the pipes in the street in front of your house and various pump stations. This local collection system directs and conveys your town's wastewater to our regional interceptor. Many towns have reduced their local rates substantially once they were no longer responsible for operating a treatment plant.
The charges from your local municipality are for collecting wastewater from your home or business and delivering it to the CCMUA interceptor, and the charge from the CCMUA is for transporting wastewater to our treatment plant in the City of Camden and for treating it.
IF I SELL MY HOUSE, HOW CAN I SETTLE MY CCMUA ACCOUNT?
Send us an email at mail@ccmua.org a week before the sale date.
Include:
Your name.
The 9 digit account number.
The town & service address of the property.
The date of the Sale.
We will process the ownership change from the email. If you prefer, you can send us a letter with the same information.
You can also contact us after the settlement date with this information.
WHY NOT BILL ON A FLOW BASIS?
Our Authority is under a court ordered service agreement which established a unit billing system. Your municipality signed this service agreement with our Authority, which complies with State laws and U.S.E.P.A. rules. 70% of your bill pays for the cost of the system's construction. This is a fixed cost and does not change based on flow or usage. This cost has already been expended to service your property and connect to our system. This cost must be recovered, and it has no relationship to usage. Many municipalities bill waste water charges on a unit basis. Billing on flow would be more costly than the current unit billing. The increased cost would have to be passed onto our customers.
WHAT IS DEBT SERVICE?
Debt service is the interest & principal the Authority pays, each year, on the money which has been borrowed to construct the waste water treatment system in Camden County. Besides Federal Grants which the Authority received for design and construction of the $850 million dollar system, all other funds were borrowed.
Each year the Authority pays interest and principal on the amount outstanding. This is similar to a home mortgage.
Since the system was constructed in two phases payments in early years were on half of the system's cost. Now payments must be still made on the first half of the system cost and the second half. Imagine if your house was constructed in two phases with the first half finished in 1987 and the second half completed in 1991. Payments made at first would be on the half of the cost completed first. Then when the entire house was finished the monthly payments would increase to cover the entire cost of the house.
WHAT IS THIS ABOUT A ZERO GROWTH BUDGET?
30% of your bill pays the operating & administration costs of running the County Sewer System. The Authority has frozen these costs since 1994. These are the 24 hour a day, 7 day a week on going expenses to treat the waste water from your property. (The remaining 70% of your bill pays for the cost of constructing the regional sewer system.)
I AM A SENIOR CITIZEN LIVING ON A FIXED INCOME. AM I ENTITLED TO A
DISCOUNT?
The Authority in conjunction with the Camden County Freeholders sponsors a Senior Citizen / Disabled Rebate Program. The Camden County Division of Senior Services has administered this program since 1992. Residential customers who are current with their bill and 65 years of age and older, or permanently disabled are eligible for this rebate, subject to income limitations. The rebate program is usually announced in the 3rd quarter of the year. The phone number for the Division of Senior Services is (877) 222-3737.
HOW DO I REPORT A SEWER ODOR COMPLAINT?
If you live in the vicinity of our South Camden treatment plant or in the vicinity of any of our facilities and smell a sewerage odor, please call the Authority's odor hotline number at 856-541- 3700, extension 2247. Please leave your name, the time and vicinity of the odor complaint and a return phone number.
Personnel from our Operations and Maintenance Department will investigate the location of the odor complaint and will return your call to inform you of any corrective action taken, if necessary, by the Authority. The Authority has a zero tolerance policy for odors and control of odors is a top priority.