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Inflation has touched every aspect of all our lives over the past few years, and the costs associated with supplying water to our customers are no different. Like all public water agencies, we must recoup the cost of ensuring high quality, safe and reliable water around the clock and that results in increased water rates. Our staff has received many questions and comments regarding the Proposition 218 notice that was mailed out specifying the proposed water rate increases over the next 3 years, so we wanted to use this opportunity to explain why these increases are necessary to continue to provide safe and reliable drinking water to the community. It is also important to note that our Proposition 218 notice sets the highest rate increases that could be implemented over the next three years. Our staff and Board of Directors are still actively working to tighten our projected budget, so that the final rate increases to be adopted in June may be less than those stated in Proposition 218 notice. As a public water agency, we review our expenses each year to ensure that we can continue to cover the costs of delivering safe, reliable water to our customers.  This year it became apparent that we needed to increase rates to offset the increased expenses, largely driven by inflationary pressures. There are three major factors driving the budget increases for the next Fiscal Year (FY):

• Operational costs for the Cater Water Treatment Plant in Santa Barbara – these costs have significantly increased and account for the majority of the proposed budget increases for FY24 ($874K). We anticipate more modest increases for these costs after the first year in FY25 & 26.

 

• Employee costs for our invaluable staff, who keep everything running, are also increasing in FY24 due to wage pressure. These costs account for $432K of the proposed budget, increasing by ~$200K over normal years.

 

• Carpinteria Advanced Purification Project (CAPP). The proposed rate increases over the next three years have also been carefully designed to generate a portion of revenue for this critical facility that will ensure a locally-controlled, drought-proof water supply for the future, which will be completed by 2026. Fortunately, the District has been awarded several grants totaling $27 million, which will cover a significant proportion of the anticipated cost of constructing CAPP. However, some costs still must be recovered through rates. The proposed rates have been designed to generate an additional $500K each year for the next four years to fund the construction and operation of the CAPP project.

After seeing our imported surface water treatment costs nearly double this year and managing our highly-variable and vulnerable water supplies over the past decade of drought, it is evident that investing in a locally-managed and drought-resistant water source will be monumental for Carpinteria Valley Water District and our customers.  Through our partnership with the Carpinteria Sanitary District (CSD), CAPP will provide us with the facilities required to capture and purify water that would otherwise be released into the ocean. This purified water will be put into the Carpinteria Groundwater Basin (CGB), where it can be stored for later use by CVWD. The CAPP is currently in final design, and construction will begin at the end of next year. When the CAPP comes online, it will provide Carpinteria with greater resiliency when faced with unpredictable water supply conditions, including drought. It is noteworthy that even without the CAPP portion included in the rate increase, the rates proposed would be two-thirds or about 67 percent of what is currently shown in the notice. We understand that any rate increase can be difficult during this inflationary period, and we remain committed to minimizing increases while ensuring the delivery of safe, reliable and sustainable water to our customers. We are developing a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) sheet about the rate increases that you will find on our website soon. You can also review our previous rate increase discussions by viewing the Board meeting recordings provided on our website. These discussions provide additional background on how the proposed increases on the Proposition 218 notice were calculated. We urge our customers to keep a water-conscious mindset and encourage you to take advantage of some of our water-saving tools and resources. We continue to offer rebates for residential and commercial customers for water conservation fixtures and appliances as well as rebates on WaterWise Landscape upgrades. You may e-mail conservation@cvwd.net for additional information. You can also monitor your water use by signing up for a FREE EyeOnWater account at eyeonwater.com/signup  and set text and e-mail leak alerts to prevent water waste. For more information about other efforts underway for your water and other District updates, please visit our website cvwd.net, follow us on twitter @CarpWater, or Carpinteria Valley Water District on Facebook and Nextdoor.

We have received many comments from our customers who are quick to celebrate the “drought being over”. We do not want to rain on your parade, but California is in a perpetual drought cycle, and we are all having to shift to making “conservation a way of life”. Using water wisely is no longer a temporary shift in our habits that we make in response to drought, but rather an everyday necessity for ensuring we have adequate water supplies when faced with consecutive dry years. We are grateful that our surface water supplies are currently nearly full and that the short-term water supply outlook is very positive. In February, the State Water Project (SWP) stated agencies would be receiving 35% of their allocations; however, by the end of March they increased water deliveries to 75%. This portion of our SWP allocation of 2,200 acre-feet amounts to 1,650 acre-feet that we will receive from this water source. Although this is a great sign of improved drought conditions across the state, it is important to reflect upon how unreliable and variable this water supply has been over the past 10 years (Figure 1). Yes, we are receiving 75% of our SWP allocation this year, but for the last five years we have not received more than 45%, and in water years 2021 and 2022 we received a mere 5% (110 acre-feet) from the SWP. For some perspective, an average California household uses between one-half and one acre-foot of water per year for indoor and outdoor use. In 2021 and 2022 the water we received from the state could only supply 100-200 single family homes in Carpinteria, which is not even enough to serve the entirety of the Concha Loma Subdivision for one year. Five percent from the state is a drop in the bucket, and it is not unexpected when looking at our historical deliveries. It is critical that we make our 75% SWP allocation last as long as possible and make every drop count. In addition to the State Water Project, we will receive 100% of our 2,813 acre-feet allocation from Lake Cachuma, which is currently spilling at the time of this writing. With this year’s rain and replenished local and state reservoirs, we will be holding a Public Hearing regarding moving from a Stage III Drought to a Stage I Drought on April 26^th, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. We are hopeful that the Carpinteria Groundwater Basin (CGB) will begin to recover from the past 10 years of drought. If we can reduce strain on the Groundwater basin and receive several consecutive wet winters there is a good chance of this source fully recovering. However, future weather patterns are unpredictable and highly inconsistent and so it may take longer than several years to fully recover. Recent water accounting analyses have shown a decline in the CGB’s groundwater storage over the past ten years of approximately 30,000 acre-feet, and staff estimates that it would take four to five wet years to refill the CGB completely. To help the Groundwater basin recovery, the District is reducing its pumping while surface water supplies are plentiful. Groundwater is a valuable resource that our region is dependent upon in times of drought when we are faced with low surface water supplies. It will be necessary for both the Water District and private well pumpers to work together to preserve this shared water resource effectively to ensure the basin can continue to provide high-quality water and avoid potential negative impacts seen by other coastal groundwater basins, such as seawater intrusion. The Carpinteria Groundwater Sustainability Agency’s (CGSA) Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) is currently being developed and public meetings are happening monthly. Join us at the next community meeting on April 19^th at the Carpinteria Lions Club at 6:00 p.m. Visit carpgsa.org for more information and share your input on future groundwater management in the Carpinteria Valley. The past few months have demonstrated how erratic our climate can be. Carpinteria Valley Water District is working on developing a more diverse water supply portfolio that is drought-resistant and locally managed due to increased volatility in surface water allocations over the last decade. The Carpinteria Advanced Purification Project (CAPP) will provide us with the facilities required to capture and purify water that would otherwise be discharged into the ocean. This purified water will then be injected into the CGB and stored for later use by CVWD. In addition to developing new sources of supply, we are also focused on increasing water supply resiliency. Carpinteria Valley Water District and Casitas Municipal Water District are working on the “Casitas Intertie Project”, which will allow the adjacent water agencies to exchange water in times of drought or in the event of an emergency. We urge our customers to keep a water-conscious mindset and encourage you to take advantage of some of our water-saving tools and resources. The District continues to offer rebates for residential and commercial customers for water conservation fixtures and appliances as well as rebates on WaterWise Landscape upgrades. If you are looking for a spring project, you can get some financial assistance with transforming your lawn and replacing it with native and low water use plants. E-mail conservation@cvwd.net for additional information. You can also monitor your water use by signing up for a FREE EyeOnWater account at eyeonwater.com/signup  and set text and e-mail leak alerts to prevent water waste. For District updates, please visit our website cvwd.net, follow us on twitter @CarpWater, or Carpinteria Valley Water District on Facebook and Nextdoor.