By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Pelham residents likely will see a drop in their sewer bills beginning in July after the City Council voted during a May 21 meeting to change the way the city calculates its sewer rates.

During the meeting, the council voted to start calculating residents’ sewer rates based on the average amount of water the resident uses from October-March each year.

Pelham Mayor Gary Waters previously said the rate changes will benefit residential customers who frequently water their yards during the summer months by not inflating their sewer bills during those months.

Currently, residents’ sewer bills are tied to their monthly water usage, meaning yard watering during the summer months can significantly inflate sewer bills, Hayes said previously.

The rate changes will go into effect July 1, and will use residents’ average water usage from October 2012-March 2013. The ordinance only applies to residential customers on the city’s water and sewer lines.

Waters previously said he would like to take a “phased approach” toward possibly modifying commercial sewer rates in the city.

The residential sewer rate calculation change likely will reduce the city’s water and sewer revenues by between $100,000-$150,000, Public Works Director Eddy Jowers said previously.