Whopping $600-a-month water rate approved for this Stanislaus County community
The Western Hills Water District board on Saturday approved a huge increase in water service rates in an attempt to maintain a water supply for the 600-home Diablo Grande community in western Stanislaus County.
The Kern County Water Agency, some 200 miles away, had threatened to stop water deliveries June 30 if the financially troubled Western Hills district did not resume payments for an annual 8,000 acre-feet allocation.
Mark Kovich, president of the Western Hills board, said at Saturday’s meeting that district representatives would meet with KCWA officials Monday to discuss the next steps. Last week, Kern’s board took action to extend the deadline related to the potential water shutoff to Sept. 30.
KCWA has said it would continue deliveries through Dec. 31 if the Western Hills district came up with money to make monthly payments, so that date remains in effect with the water rate increase approved Saturday.
A previous developer of Diablo Grande made the last payment for Kern water deliveries in 2019. The water is conveyed in the California Aqueduct to Diablo Grande through exchange agreements involving state water contractors.
Saturday’s board decision raises the monthly base rate for water service to $568 a month, plus water use charges. Most households will be paying around $600 a month, almost three times what they’re paying now. The increase, effective July 1, likely will appear on bills in late July, the board said.
One resident who spoke at the meeting demanded a monthly accounting of the district’s expenditures to show “where you spend every penny.”
Kovich said the district received 14 protests and two invalidated protests during the Prop. 218 process, far less than a majority protest that would have killed the rate hike.
The board, which promised transparency, said Western Hills will use the money to make monthly payments to KCWA for water deliveries and for costs of securing another water source beyond Dec. 31.
The district is exploring an agreement with the Patterson Irrigation District to deliver river water to Diablo Grande’s treatment facilities through a 5,000-foot pipeline that would need to be constructed.
Western Hills would like to renegotiate the year 2000 contract with KCWA to reduce the annual allocation to an affordable 2,500 acre-feet, which is what’s needed to complete the Diablo Grande first-phase development. By completing the first phase, Diablo Grande would have 2,200 homes, which is enough for self-supporting water service, but it’s not certain that KCWA is willing to renegotiate.
About $13.5 million is owed to KCWA for the water allocations.
The board also approved items for testing water from a private well that could be a backup supply if the district works out a deal with Patterson Irrigation District. The water from PID can’t be guaranteed in drought years.
The board also approved test well drilling on property at Western Hills’ two lift stations, which pump the California Aqueduct deliveries to Diablo Grande.
The district faces the prospect that some homeowners cannot or will not pay $600 a month for water, including people on fixed incomes and owners of weekend homes. Board members said the rate will be adjusted downward when the crisis passes and an affordable water supply is secured.
Board member Mary Davies, attending remotely, made a motion for a $450 monthly base rate, but no one seconded the motion. Board members expressed concern that a rate lower than $568 might not cover expenses, forcing the district to go through another Proposition 218 process to raise the rate.
The increase to $568 was based on a rate study taking into the account the district’s costs for operations and infrastructure.
