Angry Larkfield residents sound off against water rate hike
Published: Thursday, February 10, 2011 at 3:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, February 10, 2011 at 9:35 p.m.
About 120 residents of Larkfield and surrounding communities packed a state Public Utilities Commission hearing Thursday to denounce proposed water rate increases as “astronomical” and “outrageous.”
Already burdened by higher water bills than neighboring communities, they complained that the 43 percent rate hike over three years proposed by California American Water Company is “ridiculous” and unjustified.
“Why is our utility inefficient? Why can’t they provide water at reasonable rates?” said Doug Knight, a longtime Larkfield resident who said his summer water bills and those of his neighbors were more than $400 for a two-month billing cycle.
Some of the strongest remarks Thursday night came from North County Supervisor Mike McGuire, who noted that the utility’s parent corporation had $227 million in profit in the first nine months of last year.
“Larkfield residents are helping better the bottom line of fat cat investors, while our seniors are struggling to survive,” McGuire said.
If approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, residents and businesses in the Larkfield, Wikiup, Mark West and Fulton areas served by California American Water would see their bills increase 37 percent next year, 2 percent in 2013 and 4 percent in 2014 over May 2010 levels.
For example, a family that consumes 8,700 gallons per month would see its bill climb from $68.56 to $98.10, or more than 43 percent.
Already Larkfield residents pay more than twice as much as the typical $33.88 bill in Windsor and significantly more than Santa Rosa ($49.20) and Healdsburg ($46.43).
Evan Jacobs, external affairs manager for the company, said the rate increases are primarily driven by reduced sales because of customers’ success conserving water.
As people cut back on their water use, revenue drops while delivery costs do not. Other water utilities also have had to increase rates to cover fixed costs, including personnel, maintenance and capital improvements, but not by as much.
One of the challenges with Larkfield is it's a relatively small system with 2,400 customers.
“We don’t have the economies of scale of Windsor or Santa Rosa,” Jacobs said.
But McGuire called the assertions by the company “hogwash” and said other smaller districts are not asking for as great an increase. He even denounced the company’s explanations for the rate increases as “a lie.”
His comments were greeted by applause from the residents who filled the Windsor Town Council chambers where the PUC meeting was held.
California American Water is a subsidiary of American Water, which provides water and wastewater services to about 16 million people in 35 states and Canada.
The ratepayer-advocate arm of the California Public Utilities Commission does not believe the proposed increases are justified. It is recommending an initial rate increase of 24 percent in 2012, 12.5 percent less than what California American Water is seeking.
Thursday’s public hearing was conducted before administrative law judge Linda Rochester. She will make a recommendation to the PUC which will then rule on the issue. A decision is not expected until later in the year.
The ratepayer-advocate commission also disagrees with the company's $837,000 construction-cost estimate for a new well off Faught Road, saying it should be $482,000.
The utility gets about 60 percent of water from its own wells and the remainder is what it buys from the Sonoma County Water Agency.
The county water agency is proposing a much smaller increase in its rates -- 5 percent for 2011-12, but Jacobs said there were steeper increases from the county in the past couple years that the Larkfield utility had to absorb.
Customers also complain that they bear the costs of expansion of the system to accommodate new development.
Water company spokesman Jacobs said the corporation is receptive to the idea of fees being imposed on new development to pay for expansion costs, such as a new well.
But some residents suggested the water company be bought by ratepayers and be publicly run. Others said if the rate increase goes in, they will drill their own wells.
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