Within the District’s water distribution system is a vast amount of 60 year old cast iron pipe, which often fails causing unplanned outages, property damage, and emergency repair costs.
The monthly service fee was established in 2019 to generate additional revenue to fully fund the necessary capital improvement projects that are identified in the district’s Capital Master Plan (Plan). Fully funding the 10-Year Plan leads to reduced operation and repair expenses by avoiding costly unscheduled repairs and replacements of deteriorating water mains (pictured above and below). Most importantly, the accelerated water main replacement program helps avoid unplanned water shutoffs in your neighborhood and reduces the potential for public safety, public health and property damage impacts.
The need for infrastructure replacement and funding is crucial to providing clean, reliable drinking water.
To meet the financial requirements of the scheduled pipe replacement projects and ensure the district can absorb the increased construction costs, the board of directors felt that it was necessary to increase the monthly service fee from $5 to $12 per ¾” equivalent (meter size) starting January 1, 2022. Without the increase in the service fee, the district ran the risk of depleting its cash reserves as well as risk to public health and safety if unable to perform the proper level of maintenance required to deliver safe, reliable drinking water to our customers.