DATE: 06/04/2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
Honorable President and Board Members
FROM: Utilities Department
2025-227
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL AND
CORONA UTILITY AUTHORITY ACTION
SUBJECT:
WESTERN RIVERSIDE COUNTY REGIONAL WASTEWATER AUTHORITY FISCAL YEAR 2026 BUDGET
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to ratify the Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority Fiscal Year 2026 budget. Corona’s Fiscal Year 2026 obligation is $6,090,549, which is included in the City’s Proposed Fiscal Year 2026 Utilities Department’s operating budget within the Sewer Capacity Fund 440, and the Sewer Utility Fund 572.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council approve the proposed Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority Fiscal Year 2026 budget.
That the Corona Utility Authority review, ratify, and to the extent necessary, direct the City Council to take the above actions.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority (WRCRWA) exists for the purpose of operating a cost-effective regional water reclamation treatment system for the benefit of its member agencies. The City of Corona is a member of WRCRWA, along with its other member agencies of the City of Norco, Jurupa Community Services District, Home Gardens Sanitary District, and Western Municipal Water District.
On July 18, 2012, the City Council and the Corona Utility Authority approved the Project and Capacity Agreement for the expansion of the treatment facility from 8 million to 14 million gallons per day. The expansion provided the operational capacity required by Corona and other member agencies. The WRCRWA treatment plant expansion was completed in Fiscal Year 2018, and, according to Addendum No. 6 to the Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement creating the Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority (City of Corona Membership), the City of Corona will now assume its fair share responsibility of the administrative costs of the plant. The City’s original owned capacity was 2.37 million gallons per day, but the Transfer Agreement with Home Gardens Sanitary District approved by City Council on April 17, 2019, increases capacity to 2.62 million gallons per day.
ANALYSIS:
The WRCRWA Fiscal Year 2026 proposed budget was approved by the WRCRWA Board of Directors on April 17, 2025. The approved budget requires ratification by each member agency’s governing body. Corona’s Fiscal Year 2026 obligation is outlined in the following table. Staff has reviewed the budget documents and recommends that the City Council approve the item.
Expenditure Category Amount Fund Name
Operations:
Treatment System $1,667,901 Sewer Utility Fund 572
Conveyance System $108,788 Sewer Utility Fund 572
General & Administration $356,606 Sewer Utility Fund 572 Debt Service:
SRF Loan Payment $1,903,189 Sewer Capacity Fund 440
Capital:
Non-Replacement Capital $1,723,758 Sewer Utility Fund 572 Asset Replacement Reserve $330,307 Sewer Utility Fund 572 Total Member Contribution $6,090,549
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Funding for the recommended action is included in the Proposed Fiscal Year 2026 Utilities Department budget, with $4.2M available in the Sewer Utility Fund 572 and $1.9M in the Sewer Capacity Fund 440. The $1.9M loan portion is accounted for separately as a debt service obligation.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15301 of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that existing at the time of the CEQA determination, and is therefore exempt from CEQA. This action involves budget approval for operations and maintenance of an existing facility. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: AFTAB HUSSAIN, ASSISTANT UTILITIES DIRECTOR REVIEWED BY: TOM MOODY, UTILITIES DIRECTOR
ATTACHMENT:
1. Exhibit 1 – WRCRWA Fiscal Year 2026 Budget