District Water Rates to Increase – CVN Article May 18, 2023
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.
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 26th, 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 19th 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 
In addition to diversifying our water supply portfolio, CAPP will provide overall benefits to the Carpinteria Groundwater Basin (CGB) in helping to minimize the risk of seawater intrusion. CAPP will be instrumental in helping us to reach groundwater sustainability under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Indirect potable reuse is safe, sustainable, and environmentally friendly.
Initially, CAPP was estimated to cost around $30 million dollars; however, inflation has impacted projected construction costs. The project is now estimated to cost around $40 million dollars at this time. Although this is very unfortunate, it is important to keep up the momentum and push the project forward to secure a new water supply for our community, especially with no end in sight for our current drought. Without rain, our current sources of water are not being replenished and this additional source of water is being released into the ocean every day. We have the methods, technology, plans, and site selected to make this project happen. Over the course of the next three years we plan to finalize CAPP’s design, secure the required permits, pursue funding opportunities and construct the project.
So far, the District has acquired a grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in the amount of $9.5 million through their Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse program that provides funding for the planning, design, and construction of water recycling and reuse projects. Through the Clean Water State’s Revolving Fund (SRF) loan program, we were allocated an additional $10 million in grants for Recycled Water Projects. We are also hoping to receive $1.1 million through an Integrated Regional Water Management Planning (IRWMP) grant that was applied for this year. In October a grant became available to assist with meeting SGMA requirements. Since CAPP serves not only to create a new water supply but will also help our groundwater basin, the District plans to ask for around $15 million through SGMA funding. It is the goal of the District to keep pursuing grant opportunities in order to minimize the financial impact of constructing CAPP to its customers.
We have completed the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements for CAPP and the preliminary design and are moving into the final design and permitting phase. We plan to finalize this process within the next 18 months. Once construction begins, it is estimated to take another 18 months to build the facility, construct the conveyance pipeline, and drill the injection well. If all goes according to plan, the facility could be ready by January of 2026.
For more information on CAPP visit cvwd.net/capp/ and to stay up to date on the Carpinteria Groundwater Sustainability Agency and Groundwater Sustainability Plan development visit carpgsa.org. Both websites allow for you to sign up for e-mail updates to monitor project progress. We hope that you will continue to use water wisely. 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 winter 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. For District updates, please visit our website cvwd.net, follow us on twitter @CarpWater, or Carpinteria Valley Water District on Facebook and Nextdoor.