Milpitas Begins Review of New Water Rates
City Council workshop next Tuesday looks at proposals for potential water
rate structures and community outreach plan to support a reliable water system
Milpitas, Calif. — The Milpitas City Council will begin a comprehensive review of water system costs, alternative structures for water rates, and a process and timeline for public outreach at its workshop session next Tuesday, April 17.
City staff will present information about Milpitas water system operating costs, including proposed or recent increases in wholesale water costs by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and Santa Clara Valley Water District, as well as proposed water system improvements for pipelines, pumps, and water quality protection.
“A stable and long-term strategy for investing in our water system will ensure better reliability and quality of our water system for Milpitas residents and businesses,” said Tony Ndah, Public Works Director.
A draft water rates study for 2018 prepared by the consulting firm Bartle Wells and Associates also will be presented to Council that provides a cost basis for proposed water service rates for the City. [https://www.milpitas.gov/milpitas/departments/public-works-department-home-page/water-home-page/]
As part of the discussion at the Council workshop meeting, City staff will provide information on the projected revenues and expenses for the Milpitas water enterprise, along with information on two options for water rate structures.
The two rate structure options are either a uniform residential rate structure, where customers are charged the same rate for each unit of water used regardless of how much water is used; or a two-tier rate structure, where the price per unit of water is lower for usage at a lower level, and would become higher for water use that exceeds a set level per billing period.
“Both options would meet our targets operating reserves and water system debt service, and our goal is also to reduce potential negative impacts to our customers,” said Ndah.
