President's Message Winter 2016

Paying more for using less:  What can we do about the water conundrum?

San Diego County Water Authority board member Matt Hall recently was quoted in the San Diego Union Tribune saying that our water situation is hard to explain to ratepayers. “It’s real hard to tell them, ‘You have to let your grass die,’ and in the same breath you have to tell them, ‘We have more water than we can use,’” he said.

So why is this? It is the direct consequence of California Governor Jerry Brown’s Executive Order B-29-15. This Emergency Regulation gives no credit to local water agencies for developing new sustainable water supplies, such as the new Carlsbad desalination plant – investments that our local water authority has made and we are paying for.

The City of Poway becomes part of this tangled web as it is required to comply with the Governor’s order to reduce water use by 32% (and to enforce the order). This steep reduction is contributing to rising water rates because local water agencies and the City are forced to meet revenue needs with lower sales.

What can we expect if the State continues to impose mandated water reduction as its primary drought plan?

• Water allocations and penalties – Poway City Council passed an ordinance in late 2015 which establishes a baseline allowance and penalties for excess non-essential use.
• Mandated irrigation standards – the State recently required cities to adopt irrigation standards for new construction, existing landscape rehabilitation greater than 2,500 square feet needing city approval, and for existing homes with landscape area greater than one acre.
• Continued mandated water cuts and higher water rates – reduced water sales coupled with ever increasing operating cost and more expensive desalination and recycled water will result in higher rates.

What can YOU do?

• Be engaged. Sign up to receive email notifications of City of Poway city council meeting agendas so you are informed of when new restrictive water-related ordinances are being considered and adopted. Go to: http://poway.org/list.aspx
• Attend council meetings and contact Council Members directly to voice your comments on issues, such as water, that directly impact your quality of life, home value and community.
• Contact our state legislators:

38th Senate District - JOEL ANDERSON
500 Fesler Street, Suite 201
El Cajon 92020
(619) 596-3136 • Fax (619) 596-3140 www.sen.ca.gov/anderson

77th Assembly District - BRIAN MAIENSCHEIN
12396 World Trade Drive, Suite #118
San Diego, CA 92128
(858) 675-0077 • Fax (858) 675-0688 https://ad77.asmrc.org

These elected officials support petitioning Governor Brown to allow us to meet mandated cutbacks through both conservation and sustainable water supplies, such as the Carlsbad desalination plant. Let them know you support their efforts for a more balanced drought management plan. You can also contact the State Water Resources Control Board directly:

Jeanine Townsend, Clerk of the Board
State Water Resources Control Board
1001 I Street, 24th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
commentletters@waterboards.ca.gov

Now What? – How to take action against Water/Sewer Rate Increases

Over the last few weeks, we have heard from a number of GVCA members and residents in North Poway who are very concerned about the water and sewer rate increases identified in the Prop 218 notification which went out recently.  The new rates for water and sewer service amount to a combined increase of 20% for a typical north Poway property. On December 15th, City Council will vote to formally adopt the rate increases as described in the Prop 218 Notice. 

What You Can Do

1.  Contact elected officials in Sacramento where policies are being made that significantly impact our local water and sewer rates. 

2.  Send a formal protest to the City of Poway asking them to do the following in order to limit future increases:

• Review how the City can better scale its water operations and capital improvements in light of the "new" normal water demand to reduce its operating costs and lessen rate increases year after year.
• Assess if pass-through costs from other agencies are justified.
• Have staff prepare an action plan for Poway to push back against these pass-through increases and join forces with other cities facing the same issue.  

According to the Poway City Clerk, written protest must include the following information:

• A description of the protestor's property, such as the address or assessor’s parcel number; and
• The name and original signature of the customer submitting the protest
• City Council will consider all written and oral protests at this public hearing. Email nor oral comments will not qualify as formal protests.

Hand Delivered
Written protests can be submitted in person to the City Clerk’s Office at 13325 Civic Center Drive, Poway.

Sent via US Mail
City of Poway, Attn:  City Clerk, P.O. Box 789, Poway, CA  92074-0789

Submitted Protests must be received by the City Clerk’s office no later than 4:30 p.m. December 15, 2015. 

Submitted at the Council Hearing
Written protest can be submitted in writing in the Council Chambers before the Public Hearing is closed. 
 
NOTE: Last month, Poway City Council held a public workshop regarding the proposed rates. The GVCA addressed council with concerns regarding the new rates, the "temporary" surcharge, "pass-thru" cost, and the department's operating expenses. The workshop was sparsely attended by the public. We encourage all residents who are concerned about future increases to their water and sewer bills to become engaged in the public discussion BEFORE it reaches the Prop 218 phase.

Update: Water and Sewer Rates

At Tuesday night's City Council Workshop meeting, council decided to proceed with the proposed water and sewer rate increases.  A public notice will be prepared and mailed to residents advising of a public hearing to adopt the new rates. The City's next meeting on this will be a hearing on December 15th at 7:00 pm at the City Council Chambers.  

The proposed water and sewer rates are:

• 7.75% increase in the Water Commodity rate to $4.60 per unit (748 gallons) and $6.56 per unit for those using more than 200 units
• $0.75 per unit "Drought Recovery" water surcharge, effectively making the rate $5.35 per unit up from the current $4.27 per unit
• 8.75% increase in Water Meter Charge
• 7.5% increase in Sewer Use rate
• 8.75% increase in the Sewer Service Charge 

At the workshop meeting, the GVCA asked council to:   

1. Review how the City can better scale its water operations and capital improvements in light of the "new" normal water demand to reduce its operating costs and lessen rate increases year after year.
2. Assess if pass-through costs from other agencies are justified.
3. Have staff prepare an action plan for Poway to push back against these pass-through increases and join forces with other cities facing the same issue.  
4. Consider if the "Drought Recovery" surcharge is appropriate.
5. Ensure that the Drought Recovery surcharge not become a permanent fee.

While Council considered our questions, they concluded that with the "new" normal water use Powegians will not see large increases in their bills since residents are using on average 36% less water. Council members were unanimous in their decision to include a sunset clause on the Drought Recovery surcharge to officially end in December 2018. We continue to encourage Council to push for new solutions for affordable and sustainable water and sewer service in the face of rising pass-through costs and water use restrictions from Sacramento.  

Noted below is the City of Poway water commodity cost per unit over the last 16 years. In the year 2000 water was $1.76 per unit compared to $5.35 per unit in 2016, a 7.2% annual rate of increase. Today's inflation adjusted rate would be about $2.56 per unit.  

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WATER & SEWER RATES GOING UP, UP – AGAIN

What can be done? Tell Poway City Council what you think.

Water and sewer rates continue to rise as the City of Poway passes through costs for water and sewer charges to homeowners. Since 2004, our water rates have gone from $1.93 per unit to now a proposed $5.35 per unit. This Tuesday, October 20th at 7 pm, Poway City Council will discuss a staff report on recommendations to increase your water and sewer rates again:

• 7.75% increase in the Water Commodity rate to $4.60 per unit (748 gallons) and $6.56 per unit for those using more than 200 units
• Create a $0.75 per unit "Drought Recovery" water surcharge
• 8.75% increase in Water Meter Charge
• 7.5% increase in Sewer Use rate
• 8.75% increase in the Sewer Service Charge 

So what do these increases mean to you? In total, these changes would increase the "typical" GVCA households bimonthly bill to $481 for an increase of $80 (see chart below). As we know, most households in the Green Valley area have larger yards, irrigated slopes, orchards and some even have large animals and are not the "typical" 20 unit water users the City discusses in the report.

Single-Family Residential Customer
Combined BiMonthly Water and Sewer Bill
(65 Units, 3/4-inch Meter, Tier 4) 

• 61% of the cost is water is made up of water supply charges from the San Diego County Water Authority. The remaining 39% is the City's cost to operate our local water system.
• 54% of the sewer rate is pass-through expenses from the City of San Diego Metropolitan Wastewater System. 
• As we continue to cut back our water use, the price we pay will continue to rise due these pass-through increases and high fixed cost which are compounded by lower water sales revenue. 

We recognize this is a regional problem, but here are some of questions for City Council to consider:   

1. How can the City reduce its operating costs to lessen rate increases year after year?
2. Is the City adopting smart and fair water/sewer rates and policies for all ratepayers?
3. Are the pass-through costs from the San Diego County Water Authority and the City of San Diego Metropolitan Wastewater System justified?
4. What more can Poway do to push back against these pass-through increases? 
5. What can be done to secure a long-term supply of water with a more stable price? 

What can you do? We strongly encourage you to submit your questions, concerns and suggestions to the Poway City Council at the meeting on Tuesday, October 20th, or by emailing them at councilmembers@poway.org

For more information on the proposed increases, go to:
http://docs.poway.org/WebLink8/DocView.aspx?id=103137&dbid=0
http://www.pomeradonews.com/news/2015/oct/14/water-sewer-rate-increases-proposed-poway/