New water and wastewater (sewer) rates will take effect for St. Helena ratepayers starting September 1, 2023. How were these rates determined by the Water and Wastewater Study Committee?
Water Rates
The St. Helena Water Enterprise is funded by service-based rates, fees, and charges. The fees and charges are segregated into two categories, Base Fee, and Use Charge. The Base Fee is a fixed dollar amount that is billed bi-monthly regardless of amount of water used.
The Use Charge is determined by how much water is used bi-monthly by the customer. A lower base fee allows the customers more flexibility to control their water bill, but creates potential instability for Water Enterprise revenue. The rate study committee recommended that 35% of revenue from a base fee and 65% of revenue from use fees provides a good balance between revenue stability and the customers’ ability to control their water bill through conservation.
The Use Charge is determined by bi-monthly water consumption of each customer. This fee generates the remaining Water Enterprise revenue. The required revenue from the use fee is approximately $6,000,000. To promote conservation and to give the customer the ability to control their water bill, the amount paid per unit of water is arranged into three (3) tiers. The first tier is the least expensive per billing unit and the third tier is the most expensive. Each tier is applied bi-monthly (every two months).
1 billing unit is 1 Hundred Cubic Feet (HCF) and equals 748.05 gallons
- Tier 1: 0-11 HCF (0 – 8,229 gallons), $5.99 /HCF,
- Tier 2: 11-15 HCF (8,229 – 11,221 gallons), $12.06/HCF
- Tier 3: > 15 HCF (> 11,221 gallons), $12.91 /HCF
The above billing units (HCF and gallons) are for two (2) months. For monthly comparisons, divide the above HCF and gallons by 2 to get monthly values.
The above tier breaks and tier rates, require comparing historical data on water use, and estimating future water use. This estimate must be reasonably accurate to assure that the water consumption in each tier when combined will generate the required $6,000,000 revenue for the Water Enterprise.
For fiscal year 2024, the St. Helena Water Enterprise has a budgeted revenue requirement of $9,250,000. Thirty-five (35)% or $3,238,000 will come from the water Base Fee. This fee is distributed to each customer based on their meter capacity (meter size) as a percentage of the total meter capacity of the Water Enterprise. There are 2,318 single family residential meters that make up 44.4% of the meter capacity in St. Helena. The single family residence share of the base fee is 44.4% of the $3.238 million, or $1,437,000. Each customer’s share is then $1,437,000 divided by 2,318 water meters or $620 annually. When billed bi-monthly, this fee is $103 plus a meter billing charge of $32 resulting in a base fee of $135.50 bi-monthly.
The base fee and use fee will increase about 8% per year starting July 1, 2024 continuing through July 1, 2028.
