KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
With the drought restrictions now lifted, Valencia Water Co. leaders are asking Santa Clarita Valley water rate payers to pay the cost of conservation due to the California drought with a rate hike they claim is temporary.
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The current proposal would result in a temporary increase of approximately $8.54 per month for the typical Valencia Water Company customer. The hike comes out to a little over $102 annually.
The proposed increase, which would take effect Oct. 1, is an attempt to recover more than $5 million in revenue that was lost due to a “significant drop” in water sales caused by increased conservation over the past year due to the current drought.
However, the company has not specified when the rate would go back down, only saying that officials estimate the revenue shortfall would be made up in approximately a year.
The increase, if approved by the Valencia Water Company board of directors in a special public meeting Sept. 1, will remain in effect “as long as needed to recover the revenue shortfall,” according to a news release from the company.
“Valencia Water Company, like any water agency, requires a minimum level of revenue to operate and maintain its system,” said Valencia Water Co. General Manager Ken Petersen. “Unfortunately, when water sales decline by 20 percent because of extended and state-mandated conservation, we must adjust our rates to ensure we have sufficient revenue to maintain a reliable and high-quality water delivery system.”
Residents will get the chance to speak out about this increase at the Sept. 1 meeting, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Valencia High School multipurpose room, located at 27801 Dickason Drive.
If approved by the board, the new surcharge rate will go into effect Oct. 1.
This meeting was originally scheduled for June, but was postponed to ensure all customers received notification of the meeting. Water officials anticipate recovering the shortfall within a year, depending on the pace of water sales.
There are no changes to general metered rates or monthly service charges.
Get live news updates about Santa Clarita by following KHTS on Facebook and KHTS on TwitterPetersen commends customers for extraordinary water conservation during California’s extreme extended drought, which is now entering its fifth year.
“We recognize, however, the unique situation that extended, mandated water conservation creates for water agencies like Valencia Water Company,” he said. “We can usually manage a short-term campaign to save water, but a prolonged and dramatic reduction in water sales resulting from multiple years of exceptional drought ultimately has had a very significant impact on our operating revenues. Valencia Water Company oversees a very reliable and safe water system – we simply need a minimum level of revenue to keep it safe and reliable.”
Valencia Water Company officials are reaching out to many large-volume water users to review the surcharge adjustment and to assist them in improving their water-use efficiency efforts.
Additional information about the proposed increase is available on the company’s website, located here.
Here are some “Key Facts” about the proposed revenue adjustment surcharge provided by the Valencia Water Company.
- General metered rates do not change.
- Monthly service charges do not change.
- Valencia Water Company rates will remain the lowest in the Santa Clarita Valley.
- The only proposed change is to the Revenue Adjustment Surcharge.
- Valencia Water Company has experienced a 20 percent decline in revenue due to the extended drought.
- As currently proposed, the change in the surcharge will result in an increase of approximately $8.54 per month for the typical customer.
- The increase will remain in effect as long as needed to recover the revenue shortfall already experienced by Valencia Water Company.
- Prior to the proposed increase, VWC took several cost-saving steps to reduce the size of the proposed adjustment surcharge increase.
So we loose our grass, our plants etc. due to the drought/water restrictions that were imposed. We followed the rules. Now, you want more money from us to pay your short fall when we have to in a lot of cases replace plants, or grasses etc. You and the water board continue to okay the building of new homes.
Are you kidding?
Exactly what I have been saying. Constantly building new homes with the drought and we have to pay for it. Almost every hill now has homes all over. All the beautiful hills now gone and more crime too.
You right, what about our public streets with NO MORE green, our center dividers, our parks all BROWN now. Lots of people like me, moved to Santa Clarita running away from concrete cities to a beautiful all green balanced landscape city (millions of dollars invested) What is going to happen now, is it going to be replaced?
Questions about the drought will come up, I’ll just wait patiently for the answers.
That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard in my life. They want to charge/penialize us for conserving water during the drought. Why should we have to make up for their revenue loss. The drought is not our fault we should not have to pay for their loss. We did a good job conserving and now they want to charge us
for it. NO WAY!
SCAM ALERT!
Especially since they are planning thousands of new homes to be built in the SCV. Shouldn’t those people make up the revenue?
AMAZING!!! VWC has the nerve to ask it’s customer’s/consumer’s to pay for its shortfall after we played by the rules? Here’s a grand idea, why doesn’t VWC reimburse its customer’s for the cost of replacing plants, shrubs, and grass during the drought water restriction period! Better yet, go after Governor “Moonbeam” and the state legislature for your “shortfall”! It’s ALWAYS easy to TAX the customer…..isn’t it!
A Bunch of BULL….
The drought is part of doing business. Since VWC is an investor-owned water company, shouldn’t the investors take the hit? If we have an unusually cool summer and the a/c isn’t necessary, are we responsible for the loss of dollars to our electric company? On top of this stupidity, many people have already spent money to make their landscape drought tolerant.
More of the same, can’t wait to review the fixed costs that have been REDUCED by VWC.
It sounds like the water business is a no lose business. If revenue falls, just charge the customer to make up for it. What is the customer going to do? Refuse to pay? I don’t think that will happen. Also, what do you think the chances of this rate hike, um I mean surcharge not being voted in? If this is a business, why don’t they apply for a loan to keep themselves afloat like millions of businesses have had to do during the great recession? Are they a business or a mafia?
You must be kidding me! We cut down on use and then we have to make up the loss of revenue for the water company because we saved them from being fined by the out of control state!? That’s unacceptable but that’s what happens when you have a monopoly! Unbelievable!
Completely UNACCEPTABLE Valencia Water Co! The management of your company is the problem. Reduce staff, cut salaries and place strick restrictions on the thousands of homes that will be built off the 126. Valencia Water Co, you even sent out a letter to your customers saying that you (paraphrasing) ‘reconfigured the numbers and decided that, hey, wow, we actually DO have enough water for those thousands of new homes’, all the while your current customers effectively conserved water during this drought and now you LOST $$ because of it. Boo hoo. How about just NOT supplying all those new homes off the 126? But I guess you need our $ to make sure those new homes have water. I contacted you asking what restrictions would be placed on the thousands of new homes to be built and I received no answer. I suppose the owners of all those new homes will be able to put in new lawns and plants and build lots of swimming pools. You say you don’t know when the rate hike would be lifted? I get it. What that really means is that it will never be lifted–you’ll just change the name of the increased rates to something like a ‘maintanence & recovery fee’. And all of your customers are STUCK with you as our water company. Expect a big turnout Sept 1. Get a big facility to hold alot of people. You’ll need it.
Valencia Water Company Board of Directors are going to vote on this proposed increase because they are losing revenue due to mandated water conservation. Well…isn’t that just peachy. I think since I’m not making as much as I was 10 years ago I’ll just increase my product price. On wait…I can’t because then people won’t buy my product. However, Valencia Water is the only game in town where I can get my water so they can do whatever they want. Isn’t this sort of like our Senators voting in their own raises and benefits? VWC is basically penalizing us for obeying water conservation rules mandated by the State of California. Why don’t they get their additional monies from the State, or better yet figure out how to save money and run a leaner company? This “proposed” adjustment to our Revenue Adjustment Surcharge which is currently .088 per CCF will increase to .515. Excuse me but .09 to .52 (rounding off) is a .43 increase which is a 477% increase. Does that seem justified? Not to me. But do we really get a say in this proposal or is this meeting all for show? I think I can answer that question, as well as whether or not this will be a temporary increase. I’d like to take bets on that one!
Lets see how they have reduced and controlled operational cost. This is s scam anyway you look at it. They continue to play us for stupid. Just continue to build homes regardless of inadequate infrastructure to support the overdevelopment of the city..
Sounds like a win win for Valencia Water Company! They get to keep their water and their money.
As we all know, once your rate is increased, it never goes down. “Temporary” is typically a misrepresentation. Remember when our sales tax was 6% in 1989 and was “temporarily” increased for Repair and Relief following the San Francisco earthquake? Yep…never went back to 6%. I am sceptical about Valencia Water Company’s plan, besides which, SCV residents were mandated by Mayor Brown to conserve water due to the drought. Why should they then be charged for loss of income?
An increase to cover the cost of operation? I thought that is what the connection fee was for. I think that connection fee is now $20.00 before you use a drop of water. Higher than any other utility. They want to raise that to $28.00? Stop the building. We just don’t have enough water supplied to this valley.
The over building in the city will not stop until we change out the City Council. The City Council and Planning Commission need to be replaced except for Councilman TimBen Boydston. TimBen and Al Ferdman fought against the One Valley One Vision General Plan to double the population. A plan put in place by Ferry, Kellar, Weste, and McLean. Their election campaigns were supported by developers and builders. Time for a change and get these career politicians out of office.
Why don’t they ask for some of the funds from Governor Moonbeam’s Emergency Drought Bill/Proposition idiot Californians voted for???
REALLY!!!!! We are told to conserve and let our yards die. If we were caught watering on the wrong day or too much we were fined. Now because the water company lost money we have to pay for that as well. There is no Win here for the customers. We all know this surcharge will never go away. Hey I’ve got an idea, I’ll pay your surcharge if you pay to replace my grass and plants.
Santa Clarita was never in drought thanks to our large , healthy and full aquifers. This is another example of why big government solutions to local issues never works. Everyone involved knew we didn’t have a drought issue in Santa Clarita, but no one stood up and said “No” to moon beams “order”. So now our community and homes have dead landscapes and it was all for nothing. So frustrating!
Considering its value, water is ridiculously inexpensive, both before and after this proposed surcharge. What’s your cable bill cost each month? How much do you pay for your cell phone? I pay 3X as much for each as I now pay for water, and while (begrudgingly) following all restrictions, my yard is still among the greenest on my street. Moreover, I’ll bet dollars to donuts that half the folks complaining about rate changes won’t even drink water from the tap, but regularly buy and drink bottled water, paying way too much for the privilege. Let’s have some perspective — I’d rather pay $10 more a month for water if it will keep Governor Moonbeam and his sycophants out of my household affairs.
Together we stand! I need people to appear! Sept. 1 meeting, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Valencia High School multipurpose room, located at 27801 Dickason Drive.
If approved by the board, the new surcharge rate will go into effect Oct. 1.
No No No
Totally unacceptable! We did what we were asked/demanded to do at personal loss of landscape and now the water company is crying because they lost revenue!!! They should get their money from the state who put us all in this position.
Their job is to acquire and market water. A simple task. Given the surcharge to make up for lost revenue, I imagine when they ask us to conserve again we should simply not comply. Our landscaping will thrive and our water bills won’t increase.
NO rate hikes! SCV water restrictions were lifted–but remember folks, we are still under all of California’s water restriction–and its a long list!
We still can’t use that much water, and we shouldn’t have to pay for the drought. Bad idea.
Laura Davis: I am knowlegable and involved with our water system in Santa Clarita. Yes, there are still state wide, less draconian restrictions in place, but they should not apply 100% to Santa Clarita. Our 3 aquifers are healthy and their annual production, even in recent years of drought are well above the extraction rates. The historical and current performance of our aquifers easily support the unrestricted use of water for current and future developments. These facts had to be presented to state water officials in order to lift Moombeams drought restrictions in the first place. Thought you would want to be better informed.
So based on their thinking, when they are making good profit in a non drought situation are they reducing our rate too? I think not, I’ll be at the board meeting for sure
So, we are asked to do OUR part by reducing water use and when it comes to VWC doing THEIR part by tightening their belts as a company, they pass it along to their customers?
It amazes me that so many comments have to do with new homes and “we moved here to get away from..”
If you had wanted green, open space you never would have built the city as you have in the first place. Quit the whining complaints, y’all wanted to play big city and now your getting exactly what that game entails.
They “claim”. We all know better. Once again we the tax/rate payers get screwed. Greedy *******! It’s criminal. Hardin, you pretend to know people but you have no idea. Some things are better just left unsaid.
Sounds like a monopoly have Santa Clarita pay for it instead of these other things. I remember getting written up for dying grass by the Santa Clarita preservation then you get written up for over watering. My father has a place right on the Santa Clarita river with 70 out of 100 feet is all water and the level has not changed since his 20 years, there never seemed to be a drought there.
Lots of opinions and justified ones too. If VWC customers go to the meeting on September 1st and voice their opinions just like they have on this thread, they will hear us, and you all will have done your part to try and stop the rate increase. At this point that is pretty much all VWC customers can do right now. If you choose not to go for what ever reason, then you have to live not knowing if your absence had a negative impact on the outcome. Sept 01, 2016 at Valencia High School…place it on your calendar, add it to your smart phone and go be heard.