Water rate increase on Monday agenda

Scotts Valley Water District’s board of directors will host a public hearing at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 12, after which it will consider adoption of proposed water rate increases and changes to the water rate structure.
The water is inviting public comment on the proposal, which have been discussed since last spring. The board released the specifics of its five-year rate plan in Octobers. Under that plan, fees for a typical residential user would nearly double after five years.
The meeting will be held in the Santa Margarita Community Room, located downstairs at 2 Civic Center Drive.
If adopted the rates would go into effect on Dec. 13, instead of Dec. 9, the date stated in the original public notice of the meeting.
The plan is the result of a restructuring of water rate formulas to encourage more water conservation, that is based on the district’s actual costs and its long-range needs. Current water revenues barely cover the costs of pumping, treating and distributing water to Scotts Valley homes.
Ironically, even though water customers exceeded expectations and used 24 percent less water in 2015 than in 2013, the decline in fee revenues forced the district to dip into operating reserves.