Pleasanton Water Rates to Increase

The City Council voted unanimously for a $5 per month increase in water rates for the average residential customer last night.

The average commercial user may see a $25 per month increase. Changes will be implemented during the Aug 1 billing period.

The 7.2 percent jump in rates is the first increase Pleasanton residents have seen since 2001. In the past, the city has been absorbing the increase in water wholesale prices.

"We've exhausted all of our options," said Daniel Smith, city director of operations services.

Last night's changes represented an increase in just water rates and some modifications to how groups are charged for their water and sewer.

Changes included:

• Senior discount program - Increases requirement age from 62 to 65 years old. The discount would be capped for those who use more than 500 gallons of water per day (30,000 gallons for the two-month billing period. Smith said a good size pool has about 10,000 gallons of water). If seniors go past the cap, they will lose their discount for that pay period.
• Multi-Family Homes or groups of homes that have a master meter will be charged with commercial water rates. The increases per group according to the number of units and whether irrigation and water meters are combined. 
• The changes will create a fourth tier among users, adding additional fees for the heaviest water users (From $8 per month to residential users to $48 per month for commercial users).
• Town Homes will be reclassified and charged according to single family home rates. 

The changes to water rates are  part of an effort to encourage conservation among heavy users. According to staff reports, Pleasanton residents consume almost twice the amount of water as the national average (450 gallons a day compared with 290 gallons.

City staff members have held two public meetings regarding the rates changes, which were not heavily attended by residents. Smith said most inquiries about the changes came from seniors. About 36 under age 65 also enrolled in the program, since the changes were announced.

Pleasanton gets its water from two sources -- ground water from city-owned wells and purchased water from Zone 7 of Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District.

Additionally, sewer treatment for Pleasanton is provided by the Dublin San Ramon Services District and the City of Livermore. Transport is provided by the Livermore Amador Valley Wastewater Management Agency.

Overall, Smith said Pleasanton water rates are still lower than its neighbors. Average annual water costs with the changes is $496 in Pleasanton, compared to Livermore's $826 and Alameda County's $671.

But Smith warned of more increases in the future are coming from the different agencies. Zone 7, for example, has increased its rate 54 percent since 2001.

Jerry Thorne said he was concerned about further overlap amongst all the agencies that Pleasanton contracts with for its water and sewer services. Thorne suggested taking a look whether cities could absorb some of the duties of the Livermore Amador Valley Wastewater Management Agency  board.

"The use of water, for me, is part of one process," he said. "... We need to take a hard look at this process."