HomeMy WebLinkAboutSept 14th City Council Meeting- Set Public Hearing Date - Final City WebsiteCity of
Seal Beach
Water and Wastewater Rate Study
Set Public Hearing Date
September 14, 2020
Terms You Will Hear
•Cost of Service – Utility’s cost to provide water service to each customer class based on demands they place on utility
•Customer Class – Residential, Commercial, City, and Irrigation
•Fixed Charge – Amount charged by meter size. Does not vary by water use
•hcf – Common billing unit used to charge for water in California. hcf = 100 cubic feet = 748 gallons
•Meter Size – Meters track water usage at the property. Size determined by its supply line. Most residential meters are ¾”
•Rate – Amount charged per unit of water
•Rate Structure – Rates and charges applied to various customer classes
•Rate Study – Process of determining proposed future water rates
•Tiered Rate Structure – Pricing water so that cost per unit increases as consumption increases
•Uniform Rate Structure – Charging same amount per unit of water used, regardless of how much water is used
•Volumetric Rate – Amount charged per unit of water use. Measured in hcf by City.
1.A Quick Preview of Bill Impacts for SFR (87% of
customers)
2.Rate Study Background
3.Water System
•Water Financial Plan
•Proposed Water Rate Changes and Rates
•Water Bill Impacts
4.Wastewater System
•Wastewater Financial Plan
•Proposed Wastewater Changes and Rates
•Wastewater Bill Impacts
5.How Total Water and Sewer Customer Bills are
Affected - combined Water and Wastewater Bill Impacts
6.Next Steps
3
Agenda
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC
Combined Water
and Sewer, Single
Family Residential
(SFR), ¾” Meter
•Average SFR customer bill will go
down
•>80% of SFR combined Water &
Sewer Bills will stay the same or go
down
•Due to a decrease in sewer bills
4
Bi-Monthly
Water Use
(hcf)
Total
Proposed
Charge
Total
Current
Charge
Difference
($)
Approximate
% of 3/4" SFR
Customers
5 $87.18 $103.11 -$15.93 17%
10 $103.84 $116.72 -$12.87 16%
15 $122.84 $130.32 -$7.47 19%
20 $138.78 $143.92 -$5.14 17%
25 $157.36 $157.52 -$0.16 11%
81% of customers
5
Rate Study
Background
Why Water Rate Changes
Are Needed
6
•Last water rate increase - beginning of FY2014
•City’s costs to provide water service are rising
•Fund critical water infrastructure repair and
replacement capital costs projects
›City plans to invest an average of $3.28 million per
year, over the next 5 years, starting in FY 2021
›Total cost of the planned five year CIP is $16.4
million
›Issuance of a $12 million bond will be required
•Implement rate structure changes to increase fairness
and equity in accordance with Prop 218 requirements
Water, Sewer,
and Trash vs CPI
7
Across the country Water,
Wastewater and Trash rates
are rising faster than normal
goods/services.
Source: https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SEHG
8
$579
$701
$744
$794
$847
$890 $923 $942
$979
$1,050 $1,078 $1,104 $1,137
$1,182
$1,240
$249 $249 $253 $266 $273 $294 $322
$402
$445 $462 $487 $502 $534
$574
$615
$0
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23
MWD $/AF OCWD $/AF
Water Supply Costs (Acre-Feet)
Water Supply Cost Increase
$1.1
$1.9
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
FY14 FY20Millions Water Purchase Cost Increase
Water Purchase Cost Based on 3350 AF Annual Demand
10
Water Enterprise
Financial Health
What Is Funded By The Water Rates You Pay
•Water utility is entirely funded by water rates from utility bills sent to
customers
•City’s water utility is an enterprise fund—it does not receive money from
taxes
•Customer water rates (utility bill) fund all the operating costs and the
infrastructure investments for the city’s water system
Water Financial Health Without Revenue Changes
12
Proposed Revenue Increases
1.Developed by projecting revenue and expenses and assessing if
revenue was sufficient to cover costs
2.Costs include O&M, capital, debt and reserve planning
3.Assumes $12M debt issuance to fund capital in FY 2023
FYE 2021 FYE 2022 FYE 2023 FYE 2024 FYE 2025
Jan 1, 2021 July 1, 2021 July 1, 2022 July 1, 2023 July 1, 2024
14.0%12.0%8.0%8.0%8.0%
13
Proposed Cash Reserve Policies
•City has no formal reserve policies for the Water Enterprise
•Purpose of reserves are to:
›cover short-term operating costs
›Award construction contracts
›Mitigate financial risk of potential asset failure
›Enhance credit rating (future debt issues)
•Recommended reserve policy
›Operating reserve target: 90 days of operating cash on hand
›Capital reserve target: 1 year of annual average CIP
14
Water Financial Plan with Revenue Increase
15
-300%
-150%
0%
150%
300%
450%
600%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
FYE 2021 FYE 2022 FYE 2023 FYE 2024 FYE 2025
Revenue Adjustments & Debt Coverage
Revenue Adjustments Debt Coverage
Coverage Alert Required Coverage
-$5
$0
$5
$10
$15
FYE 2021 FYE 2022 FYE 2023 FYE 2024 FYE 2025MillionsOperating Financial Plan
Operating Expenses Rate Funded Capital Debt
Net Cashflow Current Revenue Proposed Revenue
$0
$1
$2
$3
$4
$5
FYE 2021 FYE 2022 FYE 2023 FYE 2024 FYE 2025MillionsCapital Funding Sources
Debt Funded Rates/Reserves Funded Total CIP
$0
$1
$2
$3
$4
$5
$6
$7
FYE 2021 FYE 2022 FYE 2023 FYE 2024 FYE 2025MillionsAll Reserves
Total Reserve Balance O&M and Capital Reserve Target
Minimum Operating Reserve
West OCB Loan
does not have a
debt covenant.
16
Water Rate
Changes
Current Rate Structure
hcf = 100 cubic feet = 748 gallons
17
Water Capital Fund Fixed Charge Residential Bi-monthly (Includes Multi-family Accounts)Leisure World
All Meter Sizes $ / hcf Capital Fund Fixed Charge
5/8" - 3/4"$37.86 Tier 1 0 - 26 hcf $2.23 12"$788.86
1"$47.89 Tier 2 26+ hcf $2.88
1 1/2"$72.97 Tier 1 0 - 45,490 hcf $2.23
2"$103.06 Commercial Bi-monthly Commercial Bi-monthly Tier 2 45,490 + hcf $2.88
3"$183.32 5/8 - 3/4"4"
4"$273.60 Tier 1 0 - 26 hcf $2.25 Tier 1 0 - 686 hcf $2.25 City Volumetric Rate
6"$524.39 Tier 2 27+ hcf $2.81 Tier 2 687+ hcf $2.81 All Water Use $2.42
8"$825.34 1"6"
10"$1,176.45 Tier 1 0 - 43 hcf $2.25 Tier 1 0 - 1,941 hcf $2.25
12"$1,577.72 Tier 2 44+ hcf $2.81 Tier 2 1,942+ hcf $2.81
1 1/2"8"
Tier 1 0 - 88 hcf $2.25 Tier 1 0 - 4,951 hcf $2.25
Tier 2 89+ hcf $2.81 Tier 2 4,952+ hcf $2.81
2"10"
Tier 1 0 -205 hcf $2.25 Tier 1 0 - 7,117 hcf $2.25
Tier 2 206+ hcf $2.81 Tier 2 7,118+ hcf $2.81
3"12"
Tier 1 0 -420 hcf $2.25 Tier 1 0 - 45,490 hcf $2.23
Tier 2 421+ hcf $2.81 Tier 2 45,491+ hcf $2.88
Proposed Water Rate Structure
Why the Proposed Changes?
•Traditional rate setting groups customers by class (SFR, MFR, Commercial, Irrigation, etc.) instead of
meter size
›Based on water use behavior (peak summer use)
›e.g., 1” commercial customer vs 1” irrigation customer
•State Water Conservation Policies (SB 606 and AB 1668) will require each water provider to
calculate water budget by June 2022.
›Possible fine for purveyors that do not meet budget by 2027.
›Smaller SFR Tier 1 (17 hcf instead of 26 hcf) will incentivize conservation to make sure Seal
Beach stays within its budget.
•Fixed charges are being calculated in proportion to American Water Works Association hydraulic
capacity factors – the industry standard for setting fixed charges. Thus, the fixed charge increase for
larger meters.
18
Proposed Water Rate Structure (Cont.)
•Single Family Residential (SFR)
›change to the tier widths - better aligns with average water use
›Tier 1 = average yearly water use for SFR account (17 hcf). This is average indoor and outdoor
water use for the average home.
•New Multi-Family Residential (MFR) class with tiers by dwelling unit .
›Quadplex would get 4 x 17 = 68 units in Tier 1.
›This is more equitable for large MFR customers.
•Commercial
›Uniform Rate; commercial customers generally have much lower irrigation needs.
•Irrigation
›Uniform Rate; created because this class has the highest peak summer water use
•City
›Uniform Rate
19
Proposed Water Rate Structure
20
Meter Size
Bi-monthly
Fixed Charge Single Family Residential Bi-Monthly
5/8"$37.37 All Meter Sizes $/hcf
3/4"$37.37 Tier 1 0 - 17 hcf $2.63
1"$55.56 Tier 2 18+ hcf $2.78
1.5"$107.63
2"$162.76 Multi-family (Tiers are per dwelling unit)
3"$289.49 All Meter Sizes $/hcf
4"$481.69 Tier 1 0 - 17 hcf $2.63
6"$948.41 Tier 2 18+ hcf $2.76
8"$1,516.96
10"$2,171.28 All Meter Sizes $/hcf
6" - Leisure World (Monthly)$474.20 Commercial $2.64
Irrigation $2.70
City $2.67
Leisure World - Same as Multi-family
Fixed Charges Volumetric Charges
Commercial, Irrigation
and City have uniform
volumetric rates.
Two new customer classes: Multi-Family Residential & Irrigation
Single Family, Multi-
Family, and Leisure
World have tiered
volumetric rates.
21
Water Bill Impacts
Single Family
Residential Bill
Impacts
22
•Most large bill impacts
are likely not SFR
customers but MFR
customers (classification
errors)
Bi-monthly SFR Water
Bill Impact No. of Customers
$120 6
$70 2
$60 -
$50 21
$40 11
$30 -
$20 1,054
$10 1,568
$5 1,413
-$50 1
Total Customers 4,076
Multi-Family
Residential Bill
Impacts, All Meters
23
•The large impacts shown at
the top are for a large
apartment complex which will
see large sewer decreases to
offset the overall bi-monthly
bill impacts
Bi-monbthly MFR
Water Bill Impact No. of Customers
$500 5
$250 8
$100 17
$50 13
$40 11
$30 3
$20 78
$10 85
$5.0 38
$0.0 2
Total Customers 260
Commercial Bill
Impacts, All
Customers
24
•Uniform volumetric rate
Bi-monthly Commerical
Water Bill Impact No. of Customers
$1,600 2
$1,000 4
$500 7
$200 34
$100 18
$75 28
$50 21
$25 10
$20 41
$10 27
$5.0 50
$0 20
-$25.0 1
-$35.0 0
Total Customers 263
Monthly LW Water Cost Per Apartment
•Leisure World has the same rate as Multi-family Customers
Billing Units
(HCF) Used
Current Cost
/Month
Current
Cost/Apt
Proposed
Cost /Month
Proposed
Cost /Apt
Change Per
Apt Per
Month
Monthly Min HCF 19,486 $ 44,243 $ 6.70 $ 51,722 $ 7.83 $ 1.13
Monthly Average HCF 39,198 $ 88,199 $ 13.35 $ 103,564 $ 15.67 $ 2.33
Monthly Max HCF 53,302 $ 124,730 $ 18.88 $ 140,695 $ 21.29 $ 2.42
6608 Residential Apartments
26
Wastewater Enterprise
Financial Health
Current Wastewater Rate Background
•Last Sewer Rate increase was in 2005
•Implemented a series of fixed fee increases (aka capital charge) over 10 years ending
in 2016
›Primary goal was to raise revenue to repair the failing sewer infrastructure
•$3.3 million Sewer Revenue Bond issued in 2011 to fund sewer capital projects
•Sewer has healthy CIP reserves
27
Wastewater Financial Health Without Revenue Changes
28
Proposed Revenue Decrease
•Sewer enterprise has ample reserves for a one-time revenue
decrease
•City reaches its reserve targets within 5 years
29
FYE 2021 FYE 2022 FYE 2023 FYE 2024 FYE 2025
Jan 1, 2021 July 1, 2021 July 1, 2022 July 1, 2023 July 1, 2024
-25%0%0%0%0%
Wastewater Financial Plan with Revenue Decrease
30
-200%
-150%
-100%
-50%
0%
50%
100%
150%
200%
250%
300%
-30%
-10%
10%
30%
50%
FYE 2021 FYE 2022 FYE 2023 FYE 2024 FYE 2025
Revenue Adjustments & Debt Coverage
Revenue Adjustments Debt Coverage Required Coverage Coverage Alert
-$4
-$2
$0
$2
$4
$6
FYE 2021 FYE 2022 FYE 2023 FYE 2024 FYE 2025MillionsOperating Financial Plan
Operating Expenses Rate Funded Capital Debt
Net Cashflow Current Revenue Proposed Revenue
$0
$2
$4
$6
$8
$10
FYE 2021 FYE 2022 FYE 2023 FYE 2024 FYE 2025MillionsAll Reserves
Total Reserve Balance Minimum Operating Reserve
O&M and Capital Reserve Target
$0
$1
$1
$2
$2
$3
$3
FYE 2021 FYE 2022 FYE 2023 FYE 2024 FYE 2025MillionsCapital Funding Sources
Debt Funded Rates/Reserves Funded Total CIP
31
Wastewater Rate
Changes
Current Bi-monthly Sewer Rate Structure
•How Sewer Customers are billed:
•Residential, Commercial, and City Sewer Service
Charge is currently 22% of (Water Service Charge
+ Water Capital Charge) + Sewer Capital Charge
•75% of current sewer revenue ($2M of $2.7M) is
collected by the Sewer Capital Charge
•The larger a customer’s meter, the more they pay
32
Residential Capital Charge
5/8"$43.32
3/4"$43.32
1"$59.88
1.5"$110.26
2"$173.46
3"$1,228.60
4"$2,055.54
Commerical Capital Charge
5/8"$47.26
3/4"$47.26
1"$102.38
1.5"$133.88
2"$535.54
3"$1,480.62
4"$2,669.84
6"$3,772.42
8"$7,875.62
10"$7,875.62
Why Are Wastewater Rate Structure Changes
Needed?
•The proposed rate structure is more equitable:
•does not charge in proportion to meter size, but charges in proportion to estimated
sewer flow.
›e.g., a park with 2” meter may only have a small bathroom; the rest of water use is for
irrigation and does not go into the sewer.
•Industry moving away from meter size as estimate of potential sewer use.
33
Proposed Sewer Rate Structure
34
•Residential (SFR) sewer flow = minimum water
use during the year (minimum billing cycle)
•Total SFR Sewer Charge = Flat Charge + lowest
billing cycle use (hcf) x $ Volumetric Rate ($/
hcf)
•SFR sewer use has a minimum and cap (4 hcf
and a 24 hcf cap, bi-monthly)
•All other customers sewer bills vary every billing
cycle = Bi-monthly fixed charge + Sewer Rate ($
/ hcf) x water use x return to sewer (RTS) factor.
•RTS = 100% for MFR, 90% for Commercial and
50% for City.
Customer Class
Proposed
Bi-Monthly
Fixed
Charge
Proposed Bi-
monthly
Billing &
Customer
Service Charge
Proposed Bi-
Monthly
Volumetric
Charge ($/hcf)
Single Family $31.98 $1.17
Multi-family $0.81 $3.83
Commercial $0.81 $3.83
City $0.81 $3.83
Leisure World Calculation
•Leisure World currently does not pay sewer charge
•It discharges sewage through a City-owned pipe connected to the Orange County Sanitation
District.
•Rate based on the cost to maintain/replace the pipe and LW’s proportionate share of sewer flow:
›capital cost of the sewer pipe ($1M) serving Leisure World divided by 80 years (i.e., the
expected life) plus yearly O&M
›Pipe cost is prorated for Leisure World’s contribution to sewer flow (95%)
•Leisure World’s fixed monthly sewer charge:
›$79.17 for O&M (95% of $1,000)
›$1,019.25 for capital maintenance/replacement of sewer pipe (95% of $1M / 80 yrs)
›TOTAL: $1,098.42 per month
35
Navy Sewer Calcs
Sewer—charged monthly
•Navy:
›uses a length of pipe that is 5.4% of the total collection system
› contributes 15.2% of the total flow in that pipe
•Annual capital cost x 5.4% x 15.2% = $10,812
•Annual O&M cost x 5.4% x 15.2% = $808
•TOTAL annual sewer charge = $10,812 + $808 = $11,620
37
Wastewater
Customer Bill
Impacts
Sewer Single
Family
Residential
(SFR),
All Customers
38
SFR Bi-monthly
Sewer Bill Impact No. of Customers
$5.0 3
$2.5 9
$0 118
-$5 502
-$10 1,126
-$15 1,781
-$25 489
-$50 36
-$100 11
-$200 0
Total Customers 4,075
Multi Family
Residential
(MFR),
All Customers
39
Bi-monthly MFR
Sewer Bill Impact No of Customers
$650 4
$250 14
$100 11
$75 17
$50 28
$25 62
$0 17
-$5 25
-$15 23
-$25 32
-$50 14
-$100 8
-$250 1
-$500 2
-$1,200 2
Total Customers 260
Commercial,
All Customers
40
Bi-monthly Commerical
Sewer Bill Impact No. of Customers
$1,650 3
$1,000 2
$750 7
$500 10
$250 15
$100 10
$50 10
$25 10
$0 176
-$500 11
-$1,000 3
-$2,000 6
-$4,000 0
Total Customers 263
41
Estimated Combined Water
and Wastewater Bill Impacts
Combined Water
and Sewer, Single
Family Residential
(SFR), ¾” Meter
•Average SFR customer bill
will go down
•>81% of SFR combined
Water & Sewer Bills will stay
the same or go down due to
a decrease in sewer bills.
42
Bi-Monthly
Water Use
(hcf)
Total
Proposed
Charge
Total
Current
Charge
Difference
($)
Approximate
% of 3/4" SFR
Customers
5 $87.18 $103.11 -$15.93 17%
10 $103.84 $116.72 -$12.87 16%
15 $122.84 $130.32 -$7.47 19%
20 $138.78 $143.92 -$5.14 17%
25 $157.36 $157.52 -$0.16 11%
81% of customers
Combined Water and
Sewer, Multi-family
Residential (MFR),
Fourplex, 1” Meter
43
•Shows a typical 4-plex
which is most common for
a 1” meter
•Bill impacts will depend
on how much water each
customer uses
Bi-Monthly
Water Use
(hcf)
Total
Proposed
Charge
Total
Current
Charge
Difference
($)
Approximate
% of 1" MFR
Customers
16 $140.56 $161.84 -$21.28 30%
20 $162.56 $172.72 -$10.15 9%
25 $191.03 $186.32 $4.70 13%
30 $215.66 $203.10 $12.56 10%
35 $244.12 $220.66 $23.46 10%
73% of customers
Combined Water and
Sewer, Commercial,
1” Meter
•1” is the most common commercial
meter size
•Bill impact depends on water use
44
Bi-Monthly
Water Use
(hcf)
Total
Proposed
Charge
Total
Current
Charge
Difference
($)
Approximate
% of 1"
Commercial
Customers
8 $105.07 $182.77 -$77.70 33%
12 $129.42 $193.75 -$64.33 11%
16 $153.76 $204.73 -$50.96 7%
25 $208.55 $229.43 -$20.88 11%
35 $269.42 $256.88 $12.54 12%
Next Steps
•Set Public Hearing date for Nov 23rd
•City to mail Proposition 218 Public Hearing
(early October)
•Complete Rate Study Report (early October)
46
End of
Presentation
Questions?