June 10, 2026
Hello Council Friends!
As you may know, I have been doing a lot of research and outreach to people in the community to find out what is bugging them, if anything. All the things you would expect of course, but one does stand out as something that might be able to be used as a positive talking and actionable point for the Council.
Your favorite… Water rates. As Ron can attest, I spend a lot of time responding to people on social media and, through explaining things I have also benefited by educating myself.
As you know too well, it is a lot. BUT I LOVE IT.
Anyway, since water rates are a huge topic, I have learned everything there is about where our water comes from, the daily usage seasonally, the depth of wells, and, all there is about the Potter Valley Project decommissioning, the actual way it functions, the reasons for its demise, and why the solution is so complex. Certainly the “two basin solution” and the “NERF” are the best replacement.
More importantly, I spend a lot of time disseminating this information because it needs to be understood to have clarity on why “we” are investing in the Dry Creek well field, etc.
In the meantime, I can see that the water rates are really high and for some, actually unmanageable. Really. I would like to propose two things:
1. A freeze on the current rates and put the July increase on hold. I think this not only will help but, more importantly, counter the claim by some (albeit, misinformed) that the Council does not care. I think the move really could be revered an altruistic intent to give people a break at this moment; recognizing that the economy in general and specifically grocery and fuel prices are excruciatingly high and, for some, also unmanageable. For the moment, it can be temporary. I think the City can back off the accelerator on it to demonstrate a compassionate and civic side of itself.
2. During this freeze, the City either on its own or with the help of a consultant, investigate how to balance usage revenue with rate increase revenue. I have looked high and low and, despite many cities facing the same challenge at some time, never has a formula been found that will help solve the problem of decreased usage leading to increased rates. Mostly what I have found is that cities have had to basically experiment. For sure, right now, the trajectory is that the higher the rates go, the less water usage happens, creating somewhat of a loop. Finding the sweet spot is challenging.
Some data has suggested that, in general, if rates decrease by 10%, the revenue offset will be replaced if usage increases 11.1%. But there are a lot of factors that are specific to each municipality and a lot of numbers out there.
Running the questions through AI, which, despite my concern about, often results in one common solution: to reduce the increase on the top tier users or eliminate the top tier entirely. This, presumably, will encourage the highest consumers (often times, businesses) to relax their conservation and use more water. This idea counts for up to a 3% increase in the AI models BUT, the message to consumers that water is not at a crisis level, in itself sends the message that conservation can be relaxed. This increase is, of course, not quantifiable.
The only action I am asking right now, and it is big, I know, is please freeze the rates where they currently are and put the July increase on hold.
See you guys on Monday!
Scott