2018-02-27_PWETC_Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Chair Cihacek noted there is a seasonal shift in the summer, which is most likely due to irrigation. It is unclear how high it goes, but it is clear it is more than 30,000 gallons. Member Seigler referred to the graphs on page 32 of the meeting packet and noted less water has been used for the last three years. There is not a need to implement a change in the water rate structure. Mr. Freihammer stated some of the usage also depends on how much rain they have had as well. Member Wozniak disagreed with Member Seigler. He referred to the analysis on page 28 of the meeting packet and stated they have 2,200 households that use less than 500 gallons. It does not indicate how much water they are actually using. The 30,000 -gallon category has 382 in the summer, but they used the same amount of water than the 2,200 households. The over 30,000 gallons category contains about 900 households and they are only paying $2.70 per gallon, but they are using four times as much water. That rate does not encourage conservation. Mr. Culver noted they are pay $2.70 per 1,000 gallons. Studies were done in the early 2000s with higher rates, and they saw that even with higher rates there was not a dramatic shift in water consumption. If they really want to use the cost of the water as incentive to use less, there has to be a substantial savings. Member Seigler stated the data for July, August, and September for 2013 in the over 30,000 -gallon category has 1,219 users and in 2015 is had 894 users. This shows that one quarter of the users are no longer in that category. Chair Cihacek noted this could be a demographic shift of going from larger households to smaller households. Some of it is seasonal, and unless they are going to dramatically distance the rates, it is not a strong enough incentive. The difference between the current rates for under 30,000 gallons and over 30,000 gallons is 20 cents. They could increase the rates for people who are dramatically over 30,000 gallons, but they do not know the number of people who are at that level. They currently see a usage dropping and can anticipate that to continue. They must consider if the tier structure or pricing makes sense based on consumption. Member Seigler stated they need to determine if there is a problem. Chair Cihacek responded there is a problem in that the quality and capacity of water will decrease over time as needs increase. It is not an immediate problem but may be one in 10 or 20 years. Member Misra stated there is a danger in looking at only three years as trends. Page 3 of 16