|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Customers of the Menlo Park Municipal Water services will soon be receiving notices that their water rates are proposed to be increased over the next five years.
Under the law, the city has to notify all customers 45 days before a public hearing on the matter, which is currently scheduled for May 11, according to a staff report.
The rate increases, set to run for the next five fiscal years – from 2022 to 2026 – would go into effect July 1 if approved. For the increases to not move forward, a majority of property owners served by the water system have to submit written protests.
The Menlo Park Municipal Water system serves about half of the city and about 4,400 customers of various types, including residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, irrigation-related and fire services-related. The water comes from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and is delivered to the Sharon Heights area and the area north and east of El Camino Real.
On March 9, the City Council took action to move the process forward by authorizing the city to notify customers of the proposed rate hikes. In addition, they decided that they favored a three tier system for water rates, with one rate for those using less than 6 CCFs, or 748 gallons, a second rate for those using between 6 and 12 CCFs, and a third rate for those using more than 12 CCFs. One CCF is 100 cubic feet of water.
They also agreed that a separate capital surcharge that customers will be required to pay be noted be separately on customer bills for the sake of transparency.
The capital surcharge would be based on water use to help fund capital projects. A master plan for the water system adopted in 2018 said that the water system needs around $90 million in improvements to its infrastructure to limit water main failures, water outages and potential future liability, according to the staff report. Of that, $27 million is expected to be funded through the city’s water fund.
A rate study by the consulting firm Black and Veatch prepared for the city indicated that if the city opts to take loans to pay for some of the infrastructure improvements, as is recommended, then consumption charge rates would be increased 5% for the next five years; otherwise rate increases could rise to 12%.
Generally, a customer’s bill includes a fixed meter charge, a consumption charge and a capital surcharge, according to the Black and Veatch study. The consumption charge rate per CCF of water used is currently $5.57 per CCF for customers who use under 6 CCFs and $7.98 per CCF for customers who use more than that. A three-tier system, as favored by the council, would raise consumption charge rates per CCF gradually to $8.11 for under 6 CCF, $10.21 for 6 to 12 CCFs and $12.48 for over 12 CCFs by 2026, according to a staff presentation.
A three-tier system would also send a stronger message to customers to conserve water, Black and Veatch consultant Alberto Morales told council members.
If the city takes out the expected loans, rates for typical residential households with a ¾” meter would rise over the five years from a base rate of $27.58 starting in July to $33.53 in 2026 and, for households using 6 CCFs of water, from $70.63 starting July 1 to $83.52 in 2026.
In addition, the capital surcharge would be set at $1.50 per CCF used for all customers.
Correction: A previous version of this story inaccurately described the unit of water subject to the rate hike proposal. The correct unit of reference is a CCF, or 100 cubic feet, rather than 1 cubic foot.
Most Popular
Guest opinion: For Menlo Park's Measure P or not for P, that is the questionOctober 4, 2026 11:02 am
Candidate Comparison Grids: Where do Menlo Park City Council District 4 candidates stand?October 5, 2026 11:16 am
I believe the article meant to say, “100 cubic feet of water” rather than “one cubic foot of water”. Also, 6 cubic feet of water is not 748 gallons. One hundred cubic feet of water is 748 gallons.
The cost of Capital Improvements is estimated to be $90,000,000, of which $27,000,000 will be funded by water department funds. Where is the other $63,000 000 coming from, issuing bonds, repayment off which will be the responsibility of all residents of Menlo Park, not just the minority of residents who receive service. Why not sell the water department to Cal Water, who was “called in” to fix a broken water main that flooded one of our schools for weeks. The sale would free city staff from providing a service that can obtained from an extremely capable organization.
Hi “Been there” – thanks for the note. You’re right. We’ve posted a correction to refer to CCFs rather than cubic feet to refer to the water units being discussed.
Yes, I agree. The Menlo Park Municipal Water system should be sold to Cal Water. It makes no sense to have a separate system.