Why are there new proposed water rates?

The proposed adjustments are designed to cover rising operational costs, fund critical infrastructure upgrades, and maintain financial reserves that help keep the system running reliably.

Water rate studies are essential to:

• Ensure water rates cover operating and maintenance costs.
• Fund essential Capital Improvement Projects (CIPs). Maintain healthy financial reserves.
• Meet Proposition 218 legal requirements.

How Are Water Costs Assigned?

Water rates are designed using a Cost of Service Analysis (COSA), which ensures each customer pays a fair share based on how much it costs to serve them. Costs are allocated by:

1. System Capacity Costs – related to peak demand on the system.
2. Commodity Costs – based on annual water use.
3. Customer Costs – tied to the number of customer accounts.

 What’s Being Proposed?

The District would take out a low-interest $7.7 million revenue bond—enough to jump-start the biggest needs and repairs without waiting years to save up.

• Rates that rise in five clear steps.
  • Year 1: A 35% bump closes the budget gap.
  • Year 2: A 26% bump finishes rebuilding a healthy emergency reserve.
  • Years 3-5: 10% each July keeps up with rising costs and pays cash for the rest of the projects.
• A “use-less-pay-less” bill. About 55% of revenue comes from the fixed monthly charge (keeps the system running), while 45% comes from the tiered water-use charge—so conserving water still saves you money.
• Built-in public protections.
  • Prop 218 notice and protest period, every property owner can block the increase if a majority files written protests.
  • Rates can’t exceed the cost to serve, verified by an independent engineer.
  • Annual Board check-ins, future steps can be paused or trimmed if costs come in lower.

In short: Borrow once to tackle the big fixes, spread the rate changes over five years, keep bills fair, and give the community full oversight every step of the way.