Up, up & away:
New hookup charges for water to jump

By Meg Olson

Water district officials have scheduled a meeting next month that could get waiting property owners one step closer to a water connection.

On June 19 at the community center, district consultants will unveil proposed increases in water rates and the general facilities fee for new connections.

The new study by the FCS group anticipates the district will need $10 million dollars in capital improvements over the next five years, compared with an anticipated $4 million in their last rate study. The improvements include building new storage to allow for new connections, and improvements to keep the current system operational, specifically 35 miles of water mains that need to be replaced.

“The scenario is the new 3 million gallon tank, water main replacement, some additional fireflow, pressure reducing stations and automated meter reading, possibly a new office and service area,” district manager Dan Bourks told commissioners.

Consultants are recommending the fee to connect to the water system, or general facilities fee (GFC) increase from a current base of $1,500 to $5,500. Property owners can expect an additional $1,500 to $3,000 for the material cost of installing the new connection.

The proposed GFC is based on sharing the average cost of improvements to the system between old and new customers, on the premise that both will benefit. If an alternate method of calculating what the new fee should be is used, based on new connections paying for a proportionate share of the existing system and paying for any new improvements needed to expand the system to accommodate them, the GFC would rise to $21,400.

If the recommended fee is adopted, ratepayers will see rates rise 23 percent in 2007 and between 11 and 20 percent for the next five years. The additional revenue will pay for system improvements and will accommodate rapidly rising water costs. “There’s a 50 percent increase projected in the price of water and that is a huge influence on rates,” said Bourks.

If commissioners approve the new rates and fees at the June 19 meeting, they can begin designing an allocation process to hand out the 160 connections still available. Commissioner Renee Coe suggested the group review the information they have about other water districts who have needed to use an allocation process at the end of a moratorium or while waiting for additional water supply. “Time to dust off the cobwebs,” agreed commissioner Madeleine Anderson.

Bourks said their legal counsel was continuing to work with several local developers to help finance the proposed storage tank, and once the current comprehensive plan receives state and county approval he suggested formally beginning negotiations with Vancouver water authorities on a new contract to buy water.

“We’ll still work on other sources as well and that’s where rainwater can come in,” Bourks said. “It’s still a long process and nothing can happen just like that.”