The Hampton Roads Sanitation District Commission’s FY 2021 budget is holding wastewater rates at current levels through June 30, 2021.

A planned 9 percent regional wastewater rate increase that would have taken effect on July 1, 2020 was eliminated, said a press release, in consideration of the economic stresses on ratepayers that have been created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Annual rate increases for more than a decade and in the future have been necessitated by new and changing regulatory requirements as well as the need to renew and replace old and aging infrastructure throughout the region, said the release. But the commission plans to meet its service obligations by reprioritizing planned investments, seeking relief from federal and state regulatory schedules, taking advantage of historically low interest rates, and judiciously using district reserves that were previously set aside for unexpected needs.

HRSD provides service to 18 cities and counties of southeast Virginia, including Gloucester and Mathews.