TID sets hearing on big water rate hikes

The Turlock Irrigation District board voted Tuesday to launch a process that could end with sharply increased water rates for farmers.

Directors voted 5-0 without comment to set a Jan. 13 hearing on the proposal, which would raise the typical charge in normal years from $8.25 to $17.50 per acre-foot. The typical price in dry years would go from $15.50 to $36.50 per acre-foot.

Under state law, the proposal could not go through if more than half of the affected customers protest before or at the hearing.

A staff report said the increases are needed to cover the cost of operating and upgrading the canal system. It added that even at the higher rates, TID’s water would be cheaper than many districts in the area.

The proposed normal-year charge assumes 4 acre-feet of water per acre over the irrigation season, the accustomed amount in most years. The dry-year charge assumes 2 acre-feet per acre, a little more than was available during the very dry 2014. An acre-foot is enough water to cover an acre a foot deep.

The board sets the actual allotment each spring, based on rain, snow and reservoir storage.

TID supplies about 4,900 farmers on about 150,000 acres stretching from south Modesto to north Merced County and from the lower Sierra Nevada foothills to the San Joaquin River.

This story was originally published November 18, 2014 at 12:20 PM with the headline "TID sets hearing on big water rate hikes."