Sewer Rate Study 2011

Photo by John Ruddock, High Orbit Media

Studies conducted by the City of Monterey’s Engineering staff identified a backlog of capital replacement and repair needs for the City’s sanitary sewer system totaling $16.8 million. Another component of the rate analysis was to address the ongoing capital costs to maintain the sewerage system in the future. The rates prior to October 1, 2011 were not sufficient to address these needs.

The Sanitary Sewer Rate Study evaluated and recommended rate structure modifications and/or alternatives as needed. The objective was to ensure that the rate structure was fair and equitable to City customers and to meet the annual revenue requirements of the sewer system. Additional information may be obtained by reading the October 19, 2010 City Council Agenda Report for Item #17 and the May 25, 2011 City Council agenda report for Item #2 - locate that information at isearchmonterey.org.

The City held two public workshops in 2010, then went forward to Council for the review of the proposed rate and to authorize mailing of the Proposition 218 Notice on May 25, 2011. An additional workshop was held in July 2011 to discuss the proposed rate structure and the need for capital improvements, and to answer questions.

2011 City of Monterey Phased Sewer Rate Increases

The sanitary sewer rate increase went into effect on October 1, 2011. Proposition 218 requires that fees cannot exceed the cost of service, must be fair and equitable, and are based on the actual cost of providing the entire service. Each customer must be charged their proportional cost of service attributable to that customer, including seniors and City properties. The annual rate increases are effective July 1 of each year. This sewer charge is for the City portion only, to maintain conveyance systems to the regional system. Additional fees for treatment and processing are charged by Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency (MRWPCA).

Residential Sewer Charge

The approved single-family dwelling (SFD) sewer charges will be based on sewage generated using flow estimates developed by the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agencies (MRWPCA). One SFD is equivalent to 189 gallons per day (gpd). The following table outlines the approved monthly SFD residential sewer charge:

APPROVED MONTHLY MFD SEWER CHARGE
The approved multi-family dwelling (MFD) sewer charges, including condominium units, is based on sewerage generated, which has been calculated to be 73.22% of 189 gpd. The following table outlines the approved monthly multi residential and condominium sewer charge:

2011	2011/2012	2012/2013	2013/2014	2014/2015	2015/2016
Multi-Residential	$5.19	$5.13	$6.36	$7.50	$7.69	$7.88
Monthly Increase		-$0.06	$1.23	$1.14	$0.19	$0.19

APPROVED MONTHLY SFD SEWER CHARGE
The approved single-family dwelling (SFD) sewer charges will be based on sewage generated using flow estimates developed by the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agencies (MRWPCA). One SFD is equivalent to 189 gallons per day (gpd). The following table outlines the approved monthly SFD residential sewer charge:

2011	2011/2012	2012/2013	2013/2014	2014/2015	2015/2016
Residential	$5.19	$7.01	$8.69	$10.25	$10.51	$10.77
Monthly Increase		$1.82	$1.68	$1.56	$0.26	$0.26

NON-RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS USING CALCULATED FLOWS

For non-residential customers, the approved rates* will vary based on sewage generated by customer type. Flow estimates have been developed by MRWPCA for the different user categories or agreed upon wastewater flow. The monthly non-residential charge will be calculated based on the following formula:

Monthly flow / 189 gpd = Total Number of EDUs (to 2 decimal places)
Total Number of EDUs x Monthly EDU Rate = Monthly Non-Residential Sewer Charge

* See Table 1

At the discretion of the City, Non-Residential Customers may base their sewer rates on either water usage or sewage generation. For all non-residential, commercial users that base their sewer rates on actual water usage, their conversion to EDU shall also include a 9% ** increase to the calculated EDU from the water usage records to account for I&I.

Monthly flow / 189 gpd = Total Number of EDUs (to 2 decimal places)x 1.09 **
Total Number of EDUs x Monthly EDU Rate = Monthly Non-Residential Sewer Charge

** This multiplier does not apply when using sewerage generation data