Hurried meals at fast food outlets and scraping food from plates at home could lead to significant rate hikes within a Martell wastewater district.

A raise for single-family dwellings would be from $46 to $71.37 per month, according to a Thursday board decision by the Amador Water Agency. Business owners - who a consultant found were under-billed for wastewater treatment costs - would be hit harder. Business rates would go from $38.72 to $75 per month. The move would follow the consultant's recommendation.

"The purpose of this study was to develop wastewater rates that improve equity between customers, with consideration of the potential demand each customer can place on the wastewater system," states a report from the Reed Group consulting firm.

Apartment dwellers and mobile home residents would would be hit less hard. New rates for both would be $56.88.

All changes would take effect May 20. A public hearing will be held on the rate proposals March 14 or soon after.

The proposed move by AWA largely reflects actions by the city of Sutter Creek, whose plant treats wastewater from Martell and Amador City. Large businesses in Martell and an increase in residences with sink-disposal units have upped Sutter Creek's costs, said City Manager Rob Duke.

"There are more solids in the system," Duke said. "People put dish scrapings down the sink, and now Martell has fast food. A lot of solids."

Sutter Creek has changed its billing for Martell from a flat rate to a volume-based method. The move to volume-based billing for Martell costs the water agency money. So does a new financial plan for Sutter Creek, which also intends to address rising city wastewater treatment costs that have followed the arrival of larger businesses in Martell.

"After the end of the fiscal year, the city issued a supplemental bill to reconcile billed flat-rate amounts to actual costs (for Martell)," wrote AWA financial services manager Michael Lee in a report to board members. He called the supplemental bill "large and difficult to anticipate."

"Although we continually work to keep costs low, the agency is sometimes confronted with a combination of increasing operational and regulatory requirements that make a rate increase unavoidable," the agency announced in noticing the public meeting.

"AWA was paying less than city users," Duke noted.

A rate hike for Martell last came around two years ago, according to AWA general manager Jim Abercrombie.