A chart shared by the Citrus Heights Water District on Nov. 23 shows how proposed increases would affect a customer with a 1-inch meter who uses 20 units of water each billing cycle.
Sentinel staff report–
If a proposed rate increase passes later this month, the Citrus Heights Water District said in a post last week that a typical customer will see an overall increase of 6.5% in their bi-monthly bills.
A chart posted on the district’s social media on Nov. 23 shows proposed water usage charges increasing by 20%, from $1.19 per unit to $1.43 per unit. However, the fixed service charge of $91.33 would only increase by a little over 3% and the new Water Main Replacement Charge of $10.50 would remain the same.
Overall, the district says if the new rates are adopted, a typical customer with a one-inch meter who uses 20 units of water will see a 6.5% increase in their bi-monthly bill, from $125.63 to $133.79. Customers who use more water would see that percentage increase, and customers who use less would see that percentage drop.
In a legally required Proposition 218 mailer, the district said the increase is needed to “balance short-term demands and long-term needs as well as help avoid significant unplanned rate adjustments which can result from failing infrastructure.”
Water rates have risen significantly over the past few years. In 2015, residents with a typical 1-inch meter paid $56.13 in fixed service fees and 77 cents per unit of water, with a unit of water roughly equaling 748 gallons.
The district did not raise rates in 2021 and says its rates are still below the regional average.
During public hearings in prior years, some residents have advocated for tying increases to water use, so that residents can lower their bills by cutting back on consumption — rather than facing increases on a fixed service charge. Due to the proposed rates affecting consumption more significantly, if adopted, customers who cut back on consumption would have more opportunities to lower their bill.
An upcoming public hearing about the proposed rate increase will be held at 6 p.m. on Dec. 12 in the Citrus Heights Community Center, South Flex Room A, at 6300 Fountain Square Drive. If approved, the increase will affect about two-thirds of Citrus Heights residents, as some parts of the city are served by neighboring water districts and will not face the proposed rate increase.
Citrus Heights Water District directors, Ray Riehle and Caryl Sheehan, left, listen to a staff member during a Dec. 5, 2018, hearing. // CHWD.
Every year that the Citrus Heights Water District proposes rate increases, you can count on a clamor of loud voices on social media criticizing the increase, along with several dozen protest letters sent to the district, followed finally by a small handful of ratepayers who bother to show up to the legally required public hearing.
You can also count on the three-member water district board voting unanimously to approve the increase each year, which, following the latest double-digit increase to be voted on Nov. 25, will amount to ratepayers being charged over 50% more than they did in 2015.
There’s two big reasons why the board doesn’t listen to the clamor of voices opposing the rate increases:
Voters have proven that they don’t care enough to act. Last year there was an open seat on the water district board, but it didn’t even show up on the election ballot because only one person applied for the seat. He won his seat by default.
This same thing also happened in the 2016 election. And in elections where a water district board position is actually on the ballot, many voters skip over the race and leave it blank.
Voters can’t argue with any consistency that their water district board members aren’t being responsible as an accountability board when the voters themselves aren’t serving their role to hold their board members accountable.
Ratepayers are willfully ignorant. Shouting that the water district should tighten up its budget instead of raising rates might sound like a good talking point, but in reality it doesn’t help.
What would be helpful would be saying specifically what the board should cut. Some argue the water district’s general manager salary is too high, with his total pay listed at over $180,000 last year, according to wage information published by the State Controller’s Office.
If you think $180,000 is too high, tell the board what the salary should be, and why. But the reality is that salaries attract the right person for the job.
In a tight labor market, where almost everyone is employed and no one is looking for work, why should someone come to the district instead of taking a higher paying job elsewhere?
That being said, there’s some merit to questioning why a district with only 35 employees has more than a third of those with total pay over $100,000 a year. Six-figure pay may make sense for management, but not for the average worker.
Carmichael Water District, with 37 employees, pays its general manager about the same as Citrus Heights, but only four of its employees have total wages over $100,000. The same is true of Fair Oaks Water District, and with both districts, their total wages paid out last year were around $2.1 million, while Citrus Heights Water District’s total wages are listed at $3.3 million.
For anyone interested, wage information for government employees can be viewed and compared online at publicpay.ca.gov.
But more proof of the ratepayers’ willful ignorance is that the district’s Customer Advisory Committee meeting videos, which are published on Youtube, only have a handful of views — none of the meetings from this year have more than 30 views.
Anyone who watches these videos would know that there is a need to replace more than 200 miles of aging water mains beginning in 2030, which is estimated to cost a minimum of $390 million. To put that in perspective, the district’s entire 2020 budget is only $20 million.
That means there’s a “tidal wave” of water main replacements that the district knows is coming and is taking action now to make plans for. The district deserves huge credit for investing significant time and effort to put together a committee of more than two dozen customers and stake holders to plan more than 10 years ahead for “Project 2030.“
Obviously rates will have to go up to pay for this, but the Customer Advisory Committee recently came up with a well-reasoned recommendation to add a 5.5% surcharge to water bills beginning in 2020 to help pre-fund the coming water main replacement tsunami. The board will be voting on this separately at a later date.
However, the 5.5% surcharge will be a totally separate charge from the current rate increase — meaning it will be added on top of the existing 11% increase being proposed on Monday night.
Sadly, the average ratepayer knows nothing about these things, and that’s largely their own fault since the information is available online. However, the water district also bears some responsibility, which are addressed in the following steps.
Here’s 4 practical steps forward:
The water district must release a multi-year plan for annual rate increases. When voters are in the dark, they are understandably skeptical. Under the district’s former general manager, a water rate study was conducted by a hired consultant, which recommended a modest 3% annual increase from 2015 to 2018.
The district initially followed that plan, but later completely dropped it and replaced it with nothing, for several years, under the leadership of the current general manager, Hilary Straus. According to Straus, it has now been replaced with a 10-year financial plan (separate from Project 2030).
When asked what rates are projected to be in 5 or 10 years, Straus told The Sentinel in a phone interview on Wednesday that it would be “irresponsible” for him to share that information, saying that if the district is able to out-perform their budget they’ll be able to lower the projected rate increases and therefore projections shouldn’t be made public.
He also said the board hasn’t even seen the 10-year rate numbers being requested, which, if that’s true, the board should demand to see the numbers and release them to the public before the Monday night vote. That’s the responsible thing to do.
The district is being inconsistent in releasing financial data related to water main replacements (Project 2030), which is 10 years out, but when it comes to annual rate hikes, it only wants the public to see rate changes two months in advance when it sends out its legally required Prop 218 notice about the proposed rate increase.
If rates will have gone up 50% since 2015, will they double, triple, quadruple, over the next 10 years? Ratepayers deserve to know and they also deserve to know specifically where the additional revenue will go. –
The board must be accessible to those who elected them. Water district board members are elected officials who serve as an oversight board for a public agency with a $20 million budget, which means they are directly accountable to voters. As such, their contact information — at least an email address — should be publicly posted on the district website.
The City Council serves this same function at the city level, as an oversight board for city government, and their emails are readily available on the city website. Why is there zero contact info listed on the district’s website for its elected board members? –
The board should approve a lower fixed-rate charge. The board has discretion to approve a smaller increase than is currently being proposed. Those on a fixed income need to have ways of keeping their water bill lower through conservation, and the board needs to consider the impact of rate hikes on the poor.
State law currently doesn’t allow for lower rates to be charged to those on lower incomes, but the fixed-rate charge can remain the same for everyone, at an already high charge of $78 for an average 1-inch meter, rather than going up almost $10 per bill as proposed. At minimum, the fixed-rate increase should be reduced somewhat — serving as a symbolic gesture of trying to do the right thing in serving customers.
How could this be paid for? Well, since the district says the average total increase is only 22 cents a day per customer, that seems simple enough to find room for in the district’s $20 million budget.
But, for a practical example, the board could look into how neighboring water districts have been able to keep their wage costs more than $1 million lower, while having roughly the same number of employees. –
Ratepayers must get involved. The Customer Advisory Committee is a great start, but an active, informed public is what makes for good government. A bumper sticker, seen from time to time, reads: “Get involved. The world is run by those who show up.”
That succinct statement accurately reflects the real world and applies to all levels of government, including the Citrus Heights Water District. Ratepayers would do well to follow that advice.
The alternative — staying ignorant and un-involved — results in a consequence that’s also short enough to put on a bumper sticker: “You get what you tolerate.”
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File photo, local water conservation. // CHSentinel
Updated Jan. 5, 6:30 p.m.–
Citrus Heights Water District customers reduced water use by an average of 37 percent during a six-month reporting period in 2015, according to the latest conservation data released by local water officials.
The latest figures are based on water use between June and November of 2015, with data showing a dip in conservation during September and October, but a return to comparatively high water savings in November. Statewide conservation during the same period hit a significantly lower average of 26.3 percent, compared to 2013 use, according to state water board data released Jan. 5.
Water suppliers around the state have varying conservation goals to achieve, ranging from 4 to 36 percent, set by the State Water Resources Control Board to meet Gov. Jerry Brown’s April 1, 2015 executive order mandating a 25 percent statewide cut.
The cumulative 37 percent water savings reported by CHWD beats the District’s state-mandated reduction target of 32 percent by 5 points.
CHWD’s water efficiency coordinator, Rex Meurer, called the latest water usage data “good news,” as he said savings are more difficult to achieve in cooler months. He said customers “should continue to conserve water as much as possible” for the District to meet its cumulative reduction target.
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Following Gov. Brown’s order last year, the state water board began requiring local suppliers to report water use and conservation data each month, beginning in June 2015. The Board releases monthly reports comparing each supplier’s current usage with 2013 water use.
Users served by CHWD, which includes about two-thirds of Citrus Heights, averaged 41 percent water savings in June, followed by 42.5 percent in July, and 38 percent in August. Savings then dropped to 29 percent during September and October, before rising to 37 percent in November, according to data released by the District. California-American Water, which serves most of the remaining portions of Citrus Heights, reported similar cumulative savings of 36 percent from June to November.
The latest state report shows November water conservation across California at an average of 20.3 percent, about 17 percent lower than CHWD and 13 percent lower than average November savings of suppliers in the greater-Sacramento region, according to the Citrus Heights-based Regional Water Authority.
In a news release last month, RWA’s Amy Talbot said one of the “easiest and most important” water-saving actions residents can take is turning off sprinklers until spring.
“Winter’s shorter and typically rainy days mean that landscapes can go without supplemental watering,” Talbot said, while cautioning that trees should not be neglected. “While sprinklers are off, be sure to monitor your trees to ensure they are getting the water they need.”
The news release also highlighted several indoor water savings tips, including only running full loads of laundry and checking for plumbing leaks. An estimated 12.5 gallons of water can also be saved by cutting shower times from 10 minutes down to five, according to the RWA.
Californians have saved over 300 billion gallons of water from June to November 2015, compared to 2013, according to the state water board.
Updated Oct. 26, 9:19 a.m.–
A public hearing at the Rusch Park Community Center has been set for Nov. 17, in light of a proposed water rate increase that would affect most Citrus Heights water users.
In a recent mailer to customers, the Citrus Heights Water District said the rate increase is necessary to replace old water mains, continue development of its groundwater well system, and to begin replacing older water meters with ones able to provide “timely water use data to customers.”
If approved, water use rates would rise about 10 cents per unit, bringing the base rate up to 87 cents per 748 gallons, the District mailer shows. Service charge rates would also increase, making a typical customer’s bi-monthly bill rise by a total of about $12 under the proposal, according to the CHWD web site.
A prior three percent rate increase was passed last November, along with approval of a new water shortage pricing structure that allows temporary enactment of higher rates during water crises. The District’s board later voted to enact a 25 percent temporary rate increase in conjunction with a “Stage 4 Water Warning” declaration that came into effect on July 15 of this year. According to a statement on the District’s web site, the board will consider discontinuing the temporary rate increase, as part of the current proposal.
CHWD Assistant General Manager Hilary Straus said the 30-employee District faces a difficult challenge to show ratepayers the need for capital investment in the District’s water delivery infrastructure, since much of the underground systems can’t be seen by customers. Citing an underground water main break that flooded part of UCLA and spewed millions of gallons of water 30 feet in the air last summer, Straus said the local District seeks to be proactive in repairing and replacing aging water mains to avoid similar “catastrophic failures and disruptions to service.”
Last December, a water main under Mariposa Avenue near Antelope Road broke overnight, causing the street to be closed down for most of the day while water district crews repaired the break. At least 26 water mains have broken in the District so far in 2015, according the the District’s mailer, but that number is down from a reported 86 breaks in 2001. Straus said the drop is due to recent investment in infrastructure.
Straus said the District has focused attention on educational outreach, beginning with the initial mailer about the proposal and continuing with question-and-answer Powerpoint presentations at various neighborhood and club meetings. The District is scheduled to make presentations next week at both Neighborhood Area 6 and area 10 meetings.
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About a third of Citrus Heights residents are served by neighboring water districts and will not face the proposed rate increase, due to water district service areas differing from city boundaries.
The upcoming hearing is scheduled to take place at 7810 Auburn Blvd. on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 6:30 p.m. In accordance with Prop 218, written protests can be mailed to the CHWD secretary, at P.O. Box 286, Citrus Heights, CA 95611.
*Note: This is the first in a series of articles about water use in Citrus Heights and proposed water rate increases.
Resident Dan Heideman listens to an answer from water district staff after asking several questions during public comment, Wednesday.
Updated Nov. 21, 11:55 a.m.– Directors for the Citrus Heights Water District voted unanimously in favor of raising rates and approving a new water shortage pricing structure Wednesday night, despite receiving 72 protest letters and hearing from a handful of residents who questioned the increase.
Under approvals made Wednesday, rates will rise three percent in 2015 and District directors will have discretion to raise rates 10 percent during a Stage 3 Water Warning, and up to 55 percent under the most extreme shortage stage. Additionally, directors can now increase excess water use rates by 50 percent during a Stage 4 Water Warning, with the option of a 250 percent increase during a situation exceeding Stage 5.
Ratepayer Dan Heideman acknowledged the need for some rise in rates, calling the three percent increase “no big deal” afterwards, but said he wanted to see some cost-cutting efforts from the District during a time when they’re asking ratepayers to pay more. He cited a current District office expansion and renovation project and the proposed 2015 water district budget increasing the general manager’s $166,964 salary up to $186,132 — although the budget also shows some positions taking double-digit pay cuts.
In a September mailer, the District said rate increases were needed to offset “financial deficit created by water shortage,” and also “help encourage customers to meet use reduction goals.” It also cited a recommendation from the District’s 2013 Water Rate Study which found a three percent rate increase each year through 2018 would be necessary “to prevent the need to issue debt to cover infrastructure maintenance and replacement.”
Public comment lasted about 45 minutes, with a sole resident advocating the Board pass the higher rates, while others questioned various aspects of water use and rate proposals.
“What more can we cut?” ratepayer Pam Pinkston asked District officials, saying she’d have to cut even more than she already has in order to avoid being hit with excess use charges. “I can let my grass die, but I can’t stop watering my fruit trees.”
<<Want to know what warning stage we’re in now, or how much water CHWD users have been conserving this year? See story: WATER: Citrus Heights usage drops 21% >>
District staff called the new water shortage rate structure a necessary “tool in the toolbox,” saying it’s a problem if they “don’t have a way to ration at the meter or the pocketbook.” They also clarified to directors that water shortage rates could be set lower, at the discretion of the Board, but not higher.
Although initially commenting the shortage rates sounded “a bit punitive,” Board President Allen Dains cast his vote in favor of the rate increases. He was joined by his colleague Director Caryl Sheehan, while recently re-elected Joseph Dion was absent from the meeting.
The three percent rate increase will go into effect January 1, 2015, but water shortage rates will not be implemented unless voted on by the board at a future date during a Stage 3 Water Warning level or higher.
Hose ends must be equipped with automatic shut-off devices, as part of the Stage 3 water warning by the Citrus Heights Water District.
The Citrus Heights Water District announced that its customers reduced water use by 27 percent in response to a Stage 3 water warning, according to an April water supply update by the District.
“CHWD thanks its customers for this outstanding conservation effort and asks everyone to keep up the good work,” read the April update, which also emphasized that customers are still asked to continue reducing water use by 20 percent. “Continuing to conserve water now can help extend our water supplies for the year ahead.”
According to David Kane, assistant manager for CHWD, the District so far does not plan to raise water rates in response to the drought, and such a move would only be considered if a further motivator were needed to encourage customers to reduce water use.
The Stage 3 water warning for CHWD customers comes with 11 regulations, including a ban on water run-off from properties and a requirement that an automatic shut-off device be attached at the end of hoses being used.
Additionally, the warning states that restaurants “shall serve water only upon request,” and landscape irrigation is to be reduced by 11 to 25 percent.
A full list of the Stage 3 regulations are available on the District’s website.
As part of its conservation efforts, the District stopped using water from Folsom Lake in January, and began relying exclusively on its five groundwater wells. The wells that can produce 9.1 million gallons of water each day — enough to meet the average demand for water during the winter months, but not during the summer when outdoor watering peaks.
Officials said that customers may have noticed a slight change in water taste, or more water spots from the dishwasher, due to the switch to in water source.
CHWD covers about two-thirds of Citrus Heights residents, and its water supply extends to portions of Fair Oaks, Orangevale, Carmichael, and Roseville.
