City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: APRIL 14, 2026 FROM: PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT WARD: 4
SUBJECT: APPROVE FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE AND WESTERN MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT TO PROVIDE TEMPORARY SEWER SERVICES ON VAN BUREN BOULEVARD BETWEEN LITTLE COURT AND GAMBLE AVENUE ISSUE:
Approve the First Amendment to the Interagency Agreement between the City of Riverside and Western Municipal Water District to provide temporary sewer services on Van Buren Boulevard between Little Court and Gamble Avenue.
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council:
Approve the First Amendment to the Interagency Agreement between the City of Riverside and Western Municipal Water District to provide temporary sewer services on Van Buren Boulevard between Little Court and Gamble Avenue; and Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute the First Amendment to the Interagency Agreement with Western Municipal Water District, including making minor non-substantial changes.
BACKGROUND:
On March 27, 2017, the City Council approved an Interagency Agreement with Western Municipal Water District to provide temporary sewer services to properties along Van Buren Boulevard while the Van Buren Boulevard sewer system and the Krameria Sewer Lift Station are under design and construction. While the agreement established terms for connection fees and monthly treatment charges, practical application over time has revealed inconsistencies that resulted in overcollections. The proposed amendment resolves these issues by aligning charges with actual usage, clarifying agency roles, and strengthening financial accountability between the parties.
DISCUSSION:
On March 28, 2017, the City and Western Municipal Water District (WMWD) entered into an Interagency Agreement to provide temporary sewer service to properties along Van Buren Boulevard between Little Court and Gamble Avenue. The agreement supported ongoing development by allowing connections to WMWD’s sewer system while the City completed its permanent sewer collection system along Van Buren Boulevard and the Krameria Sewer Lift Station. The agreement also established a framework for allocating connection fees (capacity charges) and calculating monthly treatment charges based on estimated wastewater flow from future commercial developments.
In the original agreement, capacity charges were calculated with an Equivalent Dwelling Unit (EDU) method that estimated sewer flow from zoning designation and parcel acreage. Normally, EDUs are based on the customer class and other parameters that are known when the parcel is developed. Because the agreement used estimates based on zoning and acreage instead of billing by customer class, charges were overstated in the original agreement and did not reflect actual treatment costs.
As development continues in this corridor, coordination between the City and WMWD is critical to ensure accurate billing, proportional cost recovery, and effective infrastructure management. To address challenges under the original agreement, both agencies collaborated on a proposed amendment (Attachment 2) that modernizes billing and capacity assessment while enhancing interagency coordination.
The proposed amendment benefits the City by providing a better-defined protocol for managing sewer connections and assessing customer impact, while allowing flexibility to coordinate documentation and development requirements. Billing based on actual usage promotes equity across all customer classes. Overall, this amendment reinforces shared objectives of fairness, ratepayer equity, infrastructure sustainability, and responsible development.
For WMWD, the amendment ensures accurate and full cost recovery through a shift to an EDU billing methodology based on customer class as each parcel was developed, correcting prior overcharges tied to EDU estimates and aligning revenue with actual treatment and infrastructure costs. In addition, the amendment revises the monthly sewer rate, moving from a calculated per-EDU charge to a per-gallon rate based on meter flows. Administrative efficiency will improve by clarifying data collection and coordination responsibilities, reducing billing disputes, and increasing operational transparency.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact on this action as the fees associated with the Interagency Agreement and the First Amendment to Interagency Agreement between the City of Riverside and Western Municipal Water District are funded by developments along Van Buren Boulevard between Little Court and Gamble Avenue.
Prepared by: Thuy Nguyen, Principal Engineer
Approved by: Nathan Mustafa, Interim Public Works Director Certified as to
availability of funds: Julie Nemes, Interim Finance Director Approved by: Kris Martinez, Assistant City Manager
Approved as to form: Rebecca McKee-Reimbold, Interim City Attorney Attachments:
Interagency Agreement
Amendment to Interagency Agreement between the City of Riverside and Western Municipal Water District RWQCP – WMWD Interagency Agreement Amendment ● Page 2