Since 1961, Soquel Creek Water District has been a faithful and reliable service provider to our Santa Cruz Mid-County customers. As a local, not-for-profit water district, we take great pride in providing safe, reliable water and dependable customer service.
The District is in the process of studying the rates and considering rate increases in an open, transparent manner. We understand that these rates, like other utility charges, directly impact our customers and the community.
The Board of Directors and several of our staff are also rate-paying customers, and all of us truly care about this community that we serve. Our staff take their jobs and responsibility to serve our customers very seriously and we are committed to ensuring the District can provide safe, high-quality water and protect the groundwater basin for decades to come.
Our costs to deliver service that customers expect are rising and changing. We are not alone; utility costs have increased across California. Costs have risen for critical capital projects, as well as for energy, fuel, equipment, parts, labor, and toward meeting regulatory requirements. Just like any business, as these costs change, our rates and charges must reflect the cost of providing the service.
Here are several important factors to consider about the water and services we provide and the essential role of water rates:
- Water rates are more than just a financial transaction; they reflect our societal values.
Investing in vital infrastructure — mostly invisible in our daily lives — ensures clean, safe, and reliable water for over 40,000 people in the District, along with essential services to schools, parks, and businesses.
- It’s important that aging pipelines, groundwater wells, distribution systems, and storage tanks are regularly maintained so that we can provide reliable water, 24 hours a day/ 365 days a year.
Our customers rely on us for meeting their daily water needs and for providing water for fire protection. We also have interties with neighboring agencies to provide aid in times of emergencies.
- Our groundwater basin remains critically overdrafted with seawater intrusion and contamination at our coastline.
The Pure Water Soquel project is sorely needed and will remedy this trend. In 2014 the state of California designated our basin as critically overdrafted (1 of 21 in the state) and it must reach a state mandate of sustainability by 2040.
Pure Water Soquel will help meet this mandate and protect our basin from further seawater intrusion.
- We proudly meet state and federal regulatory requirements.
Stringent regulations ensure that treatment adheres to the highest standards, guaranteeing the delivery of water free from contaminants.
Compliance with these regulations means adapting to new requirements, implementing ongoing technological advancements, rigorous water quality monitoring, and skilled personnel, all of which come at a considerable cost.
- The rate setting process was data driven with customer input: The process of setting rates is not arbitrary; it’s based on data analysis, financial planning, and social considerations.
We engaged a Water Rates Advisory Committee comprised of 10 customers and two board members during this process to incorporate diverse perspectives and ensure that decisions are grounded in the principles of equity and community needs.
This approach was insightful when considering water costs are shared fairly among all customers based on their collective uses [or demands on the system], and collective responsibility towards environmental stewardship and basin sustainability.
- The proposed revised rate structure is partially driven by the District’s guiding principles of increased equitability and fairness.
Basin-wide benefits of replenishment of the overdrafted condition, protection against further seawater intrusion, and aiding in meeting the state basin sustainability mandate are now also included in our fixed charge.
The environmental stewardship of protection against further seawater intrusion and aiding in meeting the state basin sustainability mandate are now more proportionally included for all customers, not just the high-water users (which includes large families).
- The rates include several measures to reduce expenses for our customers.
We are a ‘small but mighty’ staff that has implemented new technology to improve our operational efficiency such as smart meters.
We’ve also secured more than $95 million in state and federal grants and lower-interest loans, saving another $45 million in debt service.
Water rates are not just about covering operating costs; they are about valuing our water, our community, and our planet. We have an obligation and broader environmental responsibility to use water efficiently.
This instills in us that every drop counts and that every decision we make in managing resources is guided by the principles of sustainability, equity, and shared responsibility for our collective future.
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Join us at our Water Rates Open House on Feb. 8 at Temple Beth El in Aptos. Visit www.soquelcreekwater.org/ratestudy for all the details.