Get Ready for a Change in Your Water Bill

Starting July 1, the Moulton Niguel Water District will bill customers based on a new rate plan that was heavily protested by customers. 

The board passed the plan, 5-2, at a meeting Thursday. Richard Fiore, Scott Colton, Donald Froelich, President Larry KcKenney, and Gary Kurtz voted in favor of the plan and Vice President Brian Probolsky and Larry Lizotte voted against it.

Lizotte said this was the wrong time to enact the plan, as a separate 16.2 percent rate hike will already take place in June. Probolsky said that the customers he spoke with did not like the structure of the plan.

Most customers will see an increase of 3 cents per billing unit of water—748 gallons—and will likely use around 18 units per month.  However, those who go over their allotted amount will see a much larger increase in their bills, up to $11.02 per billing unit—which at 18 units would come to $198.36. 

Before the vote took place, General Manager Robert Gumerman addressed the complaints made by the 60 people who attended the Feb. 23 public hearing on the rate plan.

Complaint: MNWD has already had prior rate increases, why add this rate structure now?

Gumerman says this is not a rate increase. The new rate structure is not intended to generate more money than the current rate structure does—except for the penalty tiers, which will be put in a separate fund.

Complaint: This is a ‘Big Brother’ approach. MNWD does not have the right to tell them how much water to use.

Gumerman says that customers can use as much water as they want, they just have to pay the higher rate if they use more than they are allotted.

Complaint: The plan isn’t really ”revenue neutral.”

Gumerman says that what the MNWD means by “revenue neutral” is that the first three tiers of the new rate plan will generate the same amount of money as the current rate structure does. The majority of the profit from the top two tiers will go toward conservation plans such as infrastructure improvements, rebates for energy efficient appliances and customer assistance to buy water saving irrigation technology.

Complaint: There is no room for mistakes.

Gumerman says that MNWD does have a variance policy you can use if something goes wrong. For instance, if your power goes off, automatic sprinklers will go back to their default setting. This will use more water than your current settings. If you are out of town and unable to reset them, you can tell customer service what happened and they will make an allowance in your bill.

Changes Since the Feb. 23 Public Hearing

• The original plan did not include a water conservation fund for profit derived from the top two tiers. MNWD now plans to put profit from the top two tiers into this separate fund.

• There were complaints that measurements for irrigated lawns—which are used to calculate water allowances—were not accurate for many households. Gumerman says these innaccuracies have now been fixed. 

What Hasn’t Changed

• Customers still won’t know how much water they have been allotted until the month is over. This is because allotment amounts will depend on the temperature for the month and amount of precipitation—so it may be hard at times to predict your bill. 

• MNWD was asked to have additional workshops to explain how this plan works. They chose instead to work on an individual basis to explain the plan to customers. Questions can be directed toward Charles Roy, director of customer service at 949-831-2500.

• The rate structure and amount to be charged for each tier remains the same.

The rate plan consists of five tiers, from a Conservation Tier to a Wasteful Tier.

• Tier 1, the Conservation Tier, will cost $1.38 per 748 gallons. 
• Tier 2, the Efficient Tier, will cost $1.54 per 748 gallons. 
• Tier 3, the Inefficient Tier will cost $2.75 per 748 gallons and will be billed to those who exceed their total water budget by up to 25 percent.
• Tier 4, the Excessive Tier will cost $5.51 per 748 gallons and will be billed to those who exceed their total water budget by up to 50 percent.
• Tier 5, the Wasteful Tier, will cost $11.02 per 748 gallons and will be billed to those who exceed their water budget by more than 50 percent.

Allocations of water are based on estimated individual usage of 65 gallons per person per day—and an outdoor allotment which is calculated using a survey the district conducted of residents’ lot size and area that is landscaped, weather data pertaining to that specific area and plant types.