Healdsburg residents learned late last week that they will pay more for water delivery and wastewater services over the next three years and beyond, with increases of 18% expected in Fiscal Year 2024-25 alone, beginning with the July utility bill.

Healdsburg residents learned late last week that they will pay more for water delivery and wastewater services over the next three years and beyond, with increases of 18% expected in Fiscal Year 2024-25 alone, beginning with the July utility bill.

Inflation, lower-than-projected water sales (or usage; much of the decline is based on revised water use habits in the wake of the extended drought), new water treatment requirements and the need to replace centuries-old water pipelines are all driving these increases, according to Terry Crowley, the city’s utilities director.

“One of the many challenges facing the city’s water and wastewater departments is the amount of aging infrastructure serving our community,” Crowley said. “There are roughly 120 miles of water and wastewater pipes buried underneath the city; enough pipe to reach the Golden Gate Bridge and travel back to Healdsburg. 

“Many of these pipes, over a third, are more than 50 years old with some dating as far back as 1910. Adequate funding for the replacement of these pipes has not existed for many years, creating a backlog of deferred maintenance,” he added.

The city attempted to soften the blow to consumers by calling the rate spikes “revenue adjustments,” rather than “rate increases,” but it adds up to the same thing. Single-family residents will see higher costs, but they will be less in percentage and actual dollars than the increases seen by commercial and industrial users.

“We recognize that rate increases create a burden for many customers,” City Manager Jeff Kay said in his most recent report, released March 22. “We also acknowledge the frustration when commendable conservation efforts are cited as one of the causes. The reality is that the costs to operate the water and sewer systems do not go down when usage goes down.”

Residents who found the Notice of Public Hearing (in both English and Spanish languages) in their mailboxes last week were alerted to the increases as part of a process mandated by state Proposition 218. That switches on a 120-day notification and review clock, which will require a public hearing at the city council meeting of Monday, May 6.

Rates Flow Uphill

It may seem contradictory to increase water rates when water use has decreased, but city staff have stressed for months that using less water means that the relative cost per gallon goes up. To maintain infrastructure, personnel and hard costs, and to make significant capital expenditures on necessary deferred maintenance, overall utility charges must increase.

The increases will not be uniform hikes over current rates, but a staggered schedule of increases for residential customers, agricultural and landscape users, and tiered rates based on usage. The schedule and leveling of charges across the customer base should mean the rate increase will have less impact on the residential household with relatively low water usage, compared to large water users.

The basis for charging water use will be stabilized at a cost based on one hundred cubic feet (HCF) for all users. Currently all users are charged $6.48 for the first 0-5 HCF. A typical household’s peak summer use is usually between 6-10 HCF, or two HCF units; combined, this brings a total of $12.96 per single-family residence.

Starting next year, the second tier 6-10 HCF rate will increase slightly to $8.41, and a third tier of over 10 HCF will be implemented at a still higher rate, $10.80. Increased rates for non-residential classes—commercial, industrial and landscape—will also creep up.

Additionally, over time the single-family residential water service charge will also increase from $46.67 currently, to $51.33 in July 2024, to $60.57 in July 2025 and to $69.66 in July 2026.

By 2027, residential rates across the board will have increased to $8.80 for Tier 1, $11.41 for Tier 2 and $14.65 for Tier 3, above 10 HCF a month. Non-residential rates will be higher still, from $10.33 up to $15.01.

Wastewater fees, i.e. sewage charges, must also increase for similar reasons of maintenance and hard costs. Current sewage fees are $46.67 for a single-family residence; they would increase to $51.33 in July 2024, then to $60.57 in July 2025 and to $69.66 in 2026 for FY 2026-27.

Higher rates for larger households, and commercial and industrial services, would also be implemented.

The sum of all these increases mean higher monthly water and wastewater bills coming from the city starting this summer. The proposed increases would make Healdsburg utilities the priciest in Sonoma County, a position now held by Cloverdale. Only Calistoga and St. Helena, both in Napa County, would have higher utility rates in the area.

Public Input

Since such utility rate increases are governed by State Proposition 218, they have to go before a 120-day public review process. That process was kicked off by the release of the notice to residents last week. The city has scheduled a public hearing on the new water and wastewater utility fees for Monday, May 6, during the regular city council meeting scheduled to begin at 6pm.

Written protests or testimony about those rate adjustments are being received currently, addressed to the Healdsburg City Clerk at City Hall, 401 Grove St., Healdsburg, CA 95448. Those communications as well as public comment at the May 6 meeting will constitute public review of the new rate structure.

The city council is scheduled to pass the new rates at its May 20 meeting, to be incorporated into the FY 2024-25 budget.

News Source : https://www.healdsburgtribune.com/water-rates-wastewater-increases-proposed-for-utility-customers/