The Jefferson County Commission authorized a new five-year sewer billing agreement with Birmingham Water Works (BWWB) in a specially called meeting April 18.

Although this agreement could make electronic meters a possibility for BWWB customers, it also comes with a potential water rate increase of up to 5.8%.

The new agreement, with approval from both BWWB and the commission, will go into effect on Jan. 1 of next year.

“As part of the renegotiated agreement, BWWB and Jefferson County Sewer are also exploring the implementation of automatic meters to improve billing accuracy and potentially achieve cost savings,” said BWWB spokesman Rick Jackson.

“A team of representatives from both parties will assess suitable automatic metering options and conduct a separate cost study to determine the relative share of expenses for billing, collecting, and remitting sewer service charges.”