Though it seems the summer has been as busy as ever in Ocean City, one of the first and best indicators is just in: sewerage flow reports.
The Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority tracks the millions of gallons of wastewater that flow through its treatment plant at 45th Street in Ocean City. Because per capita water usage is relatively stable, the flow statistics are a good gauge of how many people are in town at any given time, according to Roger McLarnon, director of Community Operations in Ocean City.
Statistics for July 2015 show 152.578 million gallons were treated, a less than 1 percent (0.33 percent) decrease from the 153.077 gallons treated in July 2014.
Ocean City merchants and real estate agents called summer 2014 a banner season. If the wastewater stats are a true indicator, Ocean City appears on track to match last summer’s success.
The traditional measures — beach tag and parking revenues, rental occupancy rates, and retail revenues — typically won’t be fully calculated until after the season. The city set revenue records for beach tag sales and parking fee collections last year.
The sewerage flow reports show wastewater from toilets, showers, sinks and appliances. They do not reflect outdoor water usage that flows into the ground or storm drain system.
The 2015 reports show an increase from 62.3 million gallons in February to 152.6 million in July.
July 2014 saw a 7.9 percent increase over July 2013 — the first summer after Superstorm Sandy.
[table]Year,July,June,May,February
2015,”152,578,000″,”125,312″,”77,804,000″,”62,318,000″
2014,”153,077,000″
2013,”141,827,000″[/table]
A closer look at the daily statistics shows some interesting trends reflective of the Ocean City summer population:
- Saturday, July 4 saw the greatest single-day volume of the month at 7,109,000 gallons.
- The day of Night in Venice (July 11) generated 5,581,000 gallons — not as much as July 2 and 3 (6,147,000 and 6,529,000, respectively).
- The lowest day of July: Wednesday, July 29, at 4,035,000 gallons.
- Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays throughout the month saw the highest flow.
The need to maintain a system capable of handling peak summer volume is cited the primary reason that Ocean City’s water and sewer bills are so high compared to other towns.
