MAC Meeting: EBMUD Considers Rate Hike
The East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) has been bringing water to residents for over 100 years, and the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) heard an update on their century of work at this Monday’s meeting- and learned that rate increases are likely this summer and the next.
EBMUD was created by a vote of East Bay residents in 1923, and today it provides drinking water to about 1.4 million customers in Alameda and Contra Costa counties- servicing an area of over 330 square miles. Additionally, EBMUD provides wastewater services to over 700,000 customers. Around 90 percent of our EBMUD water comes from the Mokelumne River watershed- up to 325 million gallons per day.
EBMUD is currently in the process of developing a budget for the next two fiscal years, which will likely result in rate increases for customers. The utility cites aging infrastructure and increased operational costs as driving factors. According to the EBMUD, energy costs are up 48 percent, software prices have increased by 43 percent, and labor costs are up 15 percent.
The budget proposes an average of 8.5 percent rate increase over the next two fiscal years, which the utility says averages out to increases of 19 cents a day per single-family customers beginning this summer and another 21 cents per day next year. Wastewater rates would increase about 7 cents per day each of the next two years. As far as the actual cost to each consumer, that will depend on how much water customers use.
The EBMUD board will consider the budget in a public hearing on June 13, with rate changes possibly to be implemented as soon as July. Another rate hike would be set for July 2024
EBMUD says that 52 cents of each drinking water rate dollar go to infrastructure improvements; 31 cents goes to storage, treatment, and delivery of water; 8 cents to administration; 4 cents to customer service, 3 cents to natural resource management; and 2 cents to regulatory compliance.
The utility wants to make $2.5 billion in water system investments, including replacing 127 miles of pipelines over the next five years and a seismic retrofit at the Lafayette Reservoir.
The complete proposed budget is available at ebmud.com/rates.
On Sunday, May 21, EBMUD will celebrate with a 100th birthday party and community fair from 11 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Temescal Regional Recreation Area featuring live music, food trucks, and the East Bay Regional Park District mobile fish exhibit, which is a 1,500-gallon aquarium on wheels.
Register for free tickets at ebmud.com.