FAQ
Answers to Common Questions: Helping You Navigate Water & Sewer Services
Frequently Asked Questions
We currently accept Visa and MasterCard and payment can be made by calling us at 215-968-4109. Alternatively, you can always stop at our office or mail a check to:
Newtown Sewer Authority
P.O. Box 329
15 S. Congress Street
Newtown, PA 18940
A sewer bill that suddenly spikes is the result of your home or business using more water than normal. This could result from having houseguests or more people occupying the home, but could also be the sign that you may have a leaking fixture such as a toilet.
Absolutely not! It is illegal to connect any of these and could result in fines if you do.
One method we recommend is to place some food coloring into the back tank of your toilet and walk away. Check back later to see if the toilet bowl now contains colored water without having flushed it. If the toilet bowl water is colored, you have a leak and should make plans to have it fixed.
Unfortunately, we do not allow a credit for filling your swimming pool.
The cap in your yard can be obtained from most hardware stores, plumbing supply companies or your plumber. It is important to replace these caps because children tend to like to drop items such as rocks and sticks down the pipe which could result in a blockage.
Your realtor or the title company that is handling your sale will contact us and take care of all the necessary steps for you.
The sewer line running from your home or business out towards the sewer mainline is your responsibility. The Authority is responsible for sewer mainlines and the laterals that branch off of them.
Give us a call during regular business hours, we love to talk to our customers! We can be reached at (215) 968-4109 from 8:00am through 4:30pm, Monday through Friday, except holidays.
The Newtown, Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority (NBCJMA) serves 9,000 sanitary sewer customers in Newtown Township and Newtown Borough. NBCIMA’s system consists of 101 miles of gravity sewers and 2,630 manholes and eight metering sites. The Authority maintains five wastewater pumping stations and more than 50 easements in our area.
Officials in Newtown Township and Newtown Borough incorporated the Authority in 1961. The Newtown Township Supervisors and Newtown Borough Council each appoint three members to serve a 5-year term on the NBCJMA board. The Authority has only increased rates 12 times during its 63-year history.
The Authority no longer operates a wastewater treatment plant. NBCJMA closed its facility in 1988.
At the time, the PADEP was a proponent of regionalization and at the time it was considerably less expensive for the Authority to become a wholesale customer of the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority (BCWSA) and discharge wastewater through the BCWSA Neshaminy Interceptor for treatment in Philadelphia.
NBCJMA’s current flows are 2 million gallons per day.
The Authority’s projected rate increases are in line with, and in most cases less costly than what customers in neighboring municipalities are currently paying. Northampton, Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority, for instance, charges $93.75 per month for 7,000 gallons and Pennsylvania American Water charges a flat fee of $106 monthly per equivalent dwelling unit. Meanwhile, our Authority anticipates $120.54 per quarter beginning in 2025, which amounts to an increase that is less than 43 cents per day.
While future rate modifications are inevitable due to funding needed to build the new wastewater treatment plant, our Authority board is comprised of customers just like you. As such, we will work diligently to manage the impact of future rate increases in conjunction with the new wastewater treatment plant and beyond.