What are the current customer rates?
Please
see our Monthly Billing Rates page for customer fees at
this link: Monthly
Billing Rates.
You may also want to view our Residential Customer Tips
for more billing information.
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What is the procedure for applying for a side sewer
permit?
The
side sewer permit application is
available on this website (see Doing Business). Please
complete the application and submit it to our office
prior to paying any permit or connection fees. The
District has up to 3 working days to review your
application. Your contractor must be current on their
registration in order for the permit to be approved.
Once approved, the permit/connection fees may be paid.
The District requires at least a 24-hour notice to
schedule an inspection.
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How do surrounding areas get added to the Sewer
District?
An
annexation to the District is initiated by a petition of
landowners, followed by formal hearings and the ultimate
approval of the Snohomish County Boundary Review Board.
You may access more information about annexing property
on this website by looking at the
Annexation Forms page (under Doing Business). Or you
may contact our office at (425) 334-8588.
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Is there some way in which I can stay abreast of what
is happening in the Sewer District?
The public is invited to attend Sewer District meetings,
which are held regularly on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of
each month. Information is also posted regularly on this
web site.
To receive information on the new
Sunnyside Wastewater
Treatment Plant, you may contact, Mike Jauhola, P.E. at Gray & Osborne, Inc.
(206) 284-0860, or our District Office (425-334-8588) to
get signed up.
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Who is in charge of Sewer District Operations, and
how is the District governed?
Administration is managed by Darwin C. Smith, Manager of
the Lake Stevens Sewer District. The District is
governed by a three-member Board of Commissioners
elected to six-year terms. See the Overview section for
details.
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How many service connections are there in the
District?
There are approximately 10,000 sewer connections within
the District (including connections within the City of
Lake Stevens).
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What do I need to do if I am buying or selling a
property in the Lake Stevens Sewer District?
Just call our office at
(425) 334-8588 and provide us
with the updated billing account information. We would
appreciate knowing the new
owner's name,
phone number,
property address as well as
mailing address.
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What are your hours of operation?
The Lake Stevens Sewer District offices are open from
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on
Monday and
8:30 AM to 5:00 PM
Tuesday through Friday. The office is closed on most
governmental holidays.
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What do I do if I come in to pay my bill and the
office is closed?
WE HAVE 3 PAYMENT DROP
LOCATIONS:
1) In front of our office building- just outside
the front door.
2) In downtown Lake Stevens you’ll see the box in
the Library’s parking lot next to a mail box.
3) At Bartell's in Frontier Village - located in
the back of the store at the post office counter.
Bartell's hours: Weekdays 8 AM - 9 PM / Sat: 9 AM to 7
PM / Sun: 10 AM – 7 PM.
Bartell's Phone: 425-334-8410
Please reference on the check the
account that the payment is for. We ask that no cash
payments are placed in our drop boxes.
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 Can you shut off my sewer service?
Since we aren't part of the water service we don't have
the ability to shut off anyone's sewer service. If your
property is going to be vacant for several months you
might consider applying for a permit to cap your sewer
line (see rates and fees for cost of permit). You would
need to hire a contractor to do the work which the
District will inspect. When the home is going to be
occupied again you will need a permit to uncap the line.
Therefore, it may not be cost effective to cap the line
unless the home will be vacant for a year or more.
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I have been notified that there is a lien on my
property, what does that mean and how do I have it
removed?
This means your sewer account is at least 3 months
delinquent. It's important to contact the District so we
can assist you in getting your account current which
will allow us to release the lien. If lien notices are
ignored and payments continue to be delinquent then
foreclosure proceedings could begin which are much more
costly to you. Therefore, we encourage you to contact us
as soon as possible so we may provide some assistance.
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Do You accept credit card payments?
Yes,
you can
make a payment with
your debit or credit card right from this website. We
accept Visa, Mastercard and American Express. Back to top>>
 Can you do an automatic debit from my bank account,
and if so how do I set it up?
The Lake Stevens Sewer District is now able to do a
direct debit from your bank account. You will need to
fill out an application and provide us with a voided
check. You can either pick up a form at the Sewer
District Offices, or you can print a copy off this web
site fill it out, sign it, and return it to the District
Offices with your voided check attached.
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Credit/Debit Authorization Form
Why do I still receive a sewer bill
when I’m on automatic pay through my bank?
It actually costs less to send all our customers a
statement than it costs to have staff remove them for
certain accounts. Also, some customers have commented
that they appreciate receiving the statement because it
reminds them to deduct the amount from their check
register.
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Yes. The District requires developers to pay connection
fees for every house they plan to connect to the sewer
system. In fact, the District has already set aside $15
million dollars in developer fees for the cost of
constructing the new treatment plant (with $22 million
expected over the next decade).
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Why would delaying the
construction of the new plant increase the overall cost
for everyone?
The main reason was the fact that the District had
secured $77 million dollars in low-interest loans from
the State. This was a huge achievement. So, even though
the bid to construct came in higher than anticipated, if
the District did not move forward to construct the
plant, the funding would have been lost. It is unlikely
the District would have an opportunity for such a large
amount of state funding in the future (as there are so
many other agencies that apply). Without low-interest
loans, the debt for the plant would be much greater,
which in turn means higher rates for our customers.
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Why was the current plant built in
a flood plain?
You may be surprised to find out that 50 years ago it
was a common practice to build sewer plants in flood
plain areas. The land could be purchased at a much lower
cost and being close to a river provided an access point
to discharge the treated water. Since that time there
have been environmental regulations put in place to
protect our wetlands. Our District Commissioners have
been working for several years toward the goal of moving
our wastewater treatment operation out of the flood
plain, and out of harm’s way.
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I saw a truck dumping into one of your manholes, is
this legal?
Only
Evergreen Sanitation has a contract with the Lake
Stevens Sewer District allowing them to dump pre-treated
supernatant into our sewer line. Evergreen Sanitation is
closely monitored in their treatment of and disposal of
the contents of the trucks. They have continued to meet
the required pre-treatment standards of their effluent
stream. These dumps are a small portion of the District
overall flow and only a special part of Evergreen
Sanitation's on-site generated septic flows. Evergreen
Sanitation is also required to have an accredited
laboratory for the daily testing of the supernatant
prior to it's dumping. Any loads that do not pass
requirements are not allowed to be dumped. The District
also has unannounced split-sample checking of this flow
stream per our agreement. Further these flows are
limited by State requirement to not exceed 50,000
gallons in one day. Normal daily dump volumes currently
fall far below this threshold. Each dump is permitted
only at a specific District site unless otherwise
prearranged through the District.
Additionally, Evergreen Sanitation is charged for each
and every dump, on a monthly basis at an increased
surcharge rate over our residential customers. The
actual flows from Evergreen Sanitation are approximately
1/2 the strength of corresponding normal domestic sewage
after it has gone through the pre-treatment process
before dumping.
However, if you see other septic disposal trucks dumping
into any District facilities please notify the District
immediately at (425) 334-8588 as these are not licensed
dumps. Also, be advised that campers and motor homes are
not permitted to dump into the public sanitary sewer as
well. The constituents used in RV holding tanks to
control smell and promote digestion are very harmful to
the District treatment plant process and therefore not
permitted. Only large facilities such as Seattle or
Everett have sufficient flow volumes to handle RV flows
successfully. Please advise us if you see campers or
RV's dumping to the District facilities.
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