Typically, water utilities’ budgets are funded by revenue
collected through water and sewer rates. Revenue generated by
rates covers the costs of operations, as well as ongoing upgrades
and repairs to pipelines, treatment plants, sewers and other
water infrastructure.
State legislation also has affected the water rate-setting
process by requiring new processes for altering water rates, as
well as by requiring water conservation, which in turn decreases
the demand for water.
San Diego officials say they will complete a long-delayed
comprehensive analysis of city water rates this year that could
lead to sharp increases to pay for major infrastructure
projects such as the Pure Water sewage purification system now
under construction. The last time San Diego completed such an
analysis in 2015, city officials voted to raise water rates by
40 percent over a four-year period. City water customers
already face a 3 percent rate hike in January to cover rising
imported water costs. That increase, which the City Council
approved this week, was prompted by the County Water Authority
voting in June to increase what it charges the city for
imported water.
Months after a judge ruled the City of San Diego is
overcharging some water customers, the city has yet to pay up,
or make changes to its rates. Attorneys say the delay is
costing taxpayers millions in penalty fees. They filed the
case back in 2017, saying San Diego was violating a portion of
the California constitution, which states governments that
provide services are not allowed to charge more for those
services than it costs them to deliver. … Specifically,
the suit alleged San Diego had been overcharging single family
residential customers in tiers 3 and 4, which are those who use
more water than the average customer.
For a third time, the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation
District (Regional San) has been recognized as a Utility of the
Future Today by a partnership of water sector organizations.
The Utility of the Future Today Recognition Program was
launched in 2016 by a partnership of water sector
organizations, including the National Association of Clean
Water Agencies, the Water Environment Federation, the Water
Research Foundation, and the WateReuse Association. Input was
also provided from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The goal of the program is to guide utilities of all sizes
toward smarter, more efficient operations and resource
recovery.
Would-be challenger Eric Averett said he is “withdrawing” from
the race for a seat on the powerful Kern County Water Agency
board of directors. His name will still appear on the ballot,
however. Averett said he couldn’t get his name off the ballot
as the deadline to do so had already passed when he decided not
want to run against Incumbent Phil Cerro. … With the drought
and other issues, Averett said, the agency board needs to
maintain “continuity” and he didn’t want an election battle to
become a distraction. Three other agency board members are
running unopposed. Those include Laura Cattani, Ted Page and
Charles Wulff.
In this alternate universe, one water agency sees black while
the other sees white. One sees good while the other sees bad.
One says yes while the other says no. And none of it would
matter much — except that everyone who showers and drinks and
flushes the toilet is paying for it. … That grand jury,
you may recall, told these two water giants in our compact
little county to get over themselves, relinquish their pricey
fiefdoms and form a single, unified, regional, county-level
water authority to finally speak with — and this is the grand
jury’s flourish — “One Voice.” -Written by Orange County Register columnist Teri
Sforza.
There’s an uneasy quiet that fills the air as heat rises from
the winding asphalt running through the leveled neighborhoods
of Grizzly Flats…. [Rick] Hall’s home was among more than 600
destroyed by the Caldor Fire summer of 2021. … With his home
wiped out, you can imagine his surprise when he received this
bill in the mail for $68.97. That’s the existing monthly base
rate charge for water services through the Grizzly Flats
Community Services District or GFSCDD. To be specific, this
charge is not for water volume, but for a water service
connection. That’s where this dispute lies.
The San Diego County Water Authority has helped secure
financial aid for low-income water customers in the region to
cover overdue residential water and wastewater bills. The
authority is partnering with the Metropolitan Area Advisory
Committee on Anti-Poverty of San Diego County (MAAC) and
Campesinos Unidos, Inc. for outreach and education to make
residents who are struggling aware of the
funding. The Low-Income Household Water Assistance
Program (LIHWAP) is federally funded and offers one-time
payments to cover outstanding residential water and/or
wastewater bills. The federal government allocated $116 million
to California to help qualified households with their water
bills.
As California slowly emerges from
the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, one remnant left behind by
the statewide lockdown offers a sobering reminder of the economic
challenges still ahead for millions of the state’s residents and
the water agencies that serve them – a mountain of water debt.
Water affordability concerns, long an issue in a state where
millions of people struggle to make ends meet, jumped into
overdrive last year as the pandemic wrenched the economy. Jobs
were lost and household finances were upended. Even with federal
stimulus aid and unemployment checks, bills fell by the wayside.
The bill is coming due, literally,
to protect and restore groundwater in California.
Local agencies in the most depleted groundwater basins in
California spent months putting together plans to show how they
will achieve balance in about 20 years.
Low-income Californians can get help with their phone bills, their natural gas bills and their electric bills. But there’s only limited help available when it comes to water bills.
That could change if the recommendations of a new report are implemented into law. Drafted by the State Water Resources Control Board, the report outlines the possible components of a program to assist low-income households facing rising water bills.
In the universe of California water, Tim Quinn is a professor emeritus. Quinn has seen — and been a key player in — a lot of major California water issues since he began his water career 40 years ago as a young economist with the Rand Corporation, then later as deputy general manager with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and finally as executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. In December, the 66-year-old will retire from ACWA.
During drought, people conserve water. That’s a good thing for
public water agencies and the state as a whole but the reduction
in use ultimately means less money flowing into the budgets of
those very agencies that need funds to treat water to drinkable
standards, maintain a distribution system, and build a more
drought-proof supply.
“There are two things that can’t happen to a water utility – you
can’t run out of money and you can’t run out of water,” said Tom
Esqueda, public utilities director for the city of Fresno. He was
a panelist at a June 16 discussion in Sacramento about drought
resiliency sponsored by the Public Policy Institute of California
(PPIC).
This printed issue of Western Water examines water
infrastructure – its costs and the quest to augment traditional
brick-and-mortar facilities with sleeker, “green” features.
This printed issue of Western Water examines the
financing of water infrastructure, both at the local level and
from the statewide perspective, and some of the factors that
influence how people receive their water, the price they pay for
it and how much they might have to pay in the future.
This printed issue of Western Water looks at some of
the pieces of the 2009 water legislation, including the Delta
Stewardship Council, the new requirements for groundwater
monitoring and the proposed water bond.
This printed issue of Western Water examines the
changed nature of the California Water Plan, some aspects of the
2009 update (including the recommendation for a water finance
plan) and the reaction by certain stakeholders.
This printed copy of Western Water examines the challenges facing
small water systems, including drought preparedness, limited
operating expenses and the hurdles of complying with costlier
regulations. Much of the article is based on presentations at the
November 2007 Small Systems Conference sponsored by the Water
Education Foundation and the California Department of Water
Resources.
This printed issue of Western Water features a
roundtable discussion with Anthony Saracino, a water resources
consultant; Martha Davis, executive manager of policy development
with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency and senior policy advisor
to the Delta Stewardship Council; Stuart Leavenworth, editorial
page editor of The Sacramento Bee and Ellen Hanak, co-director of
research and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of
California.
Many Californians don’t realize that when they turn on the
faucet, the water that flows out could come from a source close
to home or one hundreds of miles away. Most people take their
water for granted; not thinking about the elaborate systems and
testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to
households throughout the state. Where drinking water comes from,
how it’s treated, and what people can do to protect its quality
are highlighted in this 2007 PBS documentary narrated by actress
Wendie Malick.
A 30-minute version of the 2007 PBS documentary Drinking Water:
Quenching the Public Thirst. This DVD is ideal for showing at
community forums and speaking engagements to help the public
understand the complex issues surrounding the elaborate systems
and testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to
households throughout the state.
It’s no secret that providing water in a state with the size and
climate of California costs money. The gamut of water-related
infrastructure – from reservoirs like Lake Oroville to the pumps
and pipes that deliver water to homes, businesses and farms –
incurs initial and ongoing expenses. Throw in a new spate of
possible mega-projects, such as those designed to rescue the
ailing Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and the dollar amount grows
exponentially to billion-dollar amounts that rival the entire
gross national product of a small country.
