Water and Sewer Rates
Water and Sewer Rates Effective July 1, 2022
The District recently commissioned a Water and Wastewater Rate Study which analyzed the cost of water and wastewater service for the next five years. The Study looked at inflationary adjustments to the water rates together with a new structure for the District's wastewater rates that reflects the cost of wastewater service that the District will incur under its contract with the City of Manteca. The District Board of Directors approved the new water and wastewater rates after a Public Hearing at its meeting on June 28, 2022.
For more information, see the Notice of Proposed Changes to Water and Wastewater Rates and Notice of Public Hearing at the link below as well as the April 21, 2022 Water and Wastewater Rate Study itself also linked below. Finally, the staff report from the March 22, 2022 Board of Directors discussions of this topic is also presented which provides additional information.
Summary of Water Rates: The District has been able to hold water rates steady since the last rate adjustment in 2018 in large part due to an increase in water sales associated with newly occupied homes which in effect spread the fixed cost of the potable water system over more customers. However, inflation had been very low since the time of the last rate adjustment and the District is nearing buildout and faced with significant actual and forecast inflation. This has a combined negative effect on District water finances. Water rates will be held steady until July 1, 2023, as was adopted with the last rate increase, but thereafter, a series of increases are needed to keep up with inflation’s impact on the operations and maintenance cost of the water system which costs cannot be fully offset by new growth.
Summary of Wastewater Rates: Wastewater rates have decreased. In February 2022, the District commissioned new wastewater facilities and began to pump untreated wastewater to Manteca. This has allowed the District to begin to decommission its existing wastewater treatment and disposal facilities which has reduced direct costs for wastewater treatment and disposal operations. The District will continue to operate its wastewater collection and pumping system facilities. The agreement between the City of Manteca and the District requires payment by the District for various aspects of that service. Overall, the revenue needs associated with these revised wastewater operations will decrease moderately next year and will further decrease as certain one-time costs associated with the new wastewater facilities are paid down over a 10 - 15 year period. Additionally, and due to the terms of the agreement between the District and Manteca, the wastewater rates will be significantly restructured so as to ensure the equitable allocation of the various cost elements of that service to each customer class.
Applicability of Manteca Capacity Charge As can be seen in the "Notice of Proposed Changes to Water and Wastewater Rates and Notice of Public Hearing" (see link below) the proposed wastewater structure will consist of three separate components, one of which will be the "Manteca Capacity Component". This new component represents payment to Manteca for allowing the District to connect to its wastewater treatment and disposal system. It is essentially a charge identical to what any new home built in Manteca now pays to connect to the city’s wastewater facilities. This charge is a requirement of the District’s agreement with Manteca. This charge would only be assessed on those single family and mobile home park units for which a building permit was issued by San Joaquin County before June 4, 2019 which is the effective date of the District’s agreement with Manteca. This charge will not be applicable to single family homes or mobile home park units for which a building permit was issued by San Joaquin County on or after that date provided that the Manteca Capacity Component was paid as a single payment by the builder or owner. The capacity charge, if paid as a single payment, would be $5,964 per single family home and $5,103 per mobile home park unit. However, Manteca is allowing these amounts to be gradually paid over a 12 year period at a 2.5% interest rate. This equates to $48.45/month per applicable single family home and $41.46/month per mobile home park unit. Commercial properties (excepting the HOA clubhouse) will not be subject to this District charge because they will be required to pay the Manteca Capacity fee in full prior to the issuance of a building permit. This Manteca Capacity charge will remain unchanged from proposed inception on July 1, 2022 for the twelve year period. Separately, the District Board approved a program allowing, but not requiring, a customer subject to the Manteca Capacity Component to pay off the principal amount in whole or in part thereby eliminating or reducing this component from their monthly bill. The payoff will be subject to certain restrictions as to amounts and timing of the amount paid.
Customers have been asking whether the charge is or is not applicable to their property. The charge will be applicable if the building permit for the property was issued before June 4, 2019 (unless the charge has been already paid by the builder). See the link below to determine if your property is or is not subject to this charge.
Receipt and Payment of Service Bills
Your water and sewer service bill is calculated based on your previous monthly usage. For example, the January invoice will be calculated and sent to you in early February after the month of January is complete so that all usage data is captured. Water and sewer service bills are considered delinquent if not paid by the last day of the month and late fees are assessed.
System Capacity Charges
Capacity fees are a type of development impact fee that public agencies may impose as a condition of development under the authority of California Government Code section 66000 et seq., the Mitigation Fee Act (Act). The purpose of capacity fees is to ensure that development pays its fair share of the costs associated with providing system capacity. Capacity fees are a one-time charge paid near at the time the connection is made or entitlements are received. The Act requires that those fees or charges shall not exceed the estimated reasonable cost of providing the service. The District has established Capacity Fees for Water and Sewer Service as follows:
Miscellaneous Fees and Charges