In early 2022 the city of Sebastopol voted to borrow $2m in order to install digital water meters to replace rate payer analog meters that had been in place for decades.
The rationale for taking this action was primarily claimed to be in order to create an early warning system for water rates payers to alert them if they had leaks on their
property. This would save them money and conserve
water (although since the City of Sebastopol owns wells accessing a giant aquifer under our land we have no water shortage issues regardless of drought year conditions
elsewhere).
Digital water meters are connected to centralized software, presumably owned by the city, that should provide an
enhanced real time data flow of water consumption and
data. Rate payers were told they could use
the ‘EyeOnWater’ app, but this app in 2024 only allows
you to track how much water you drink for hydration and is littered with advertising.
Given the proposed substantial rate increases in water and waste water charges that are urgent due to the enterprise fund having had funds siphoned off into the general fund over the last ten years, it would be illuminating to
understand how city staff have been using the data
provided by our digital water meters to create reports and organize appropriate billing.
The water usage information captured since 2022 was
presumably used by the consultants and city staff to
formulate the current proposed pricing increases. it would be very helpful for our new city manager, council and rate payers to have a workshop with city staff that explains the working of the digital water system, the data and
information it creates and the software and processes used to manipulate it and create billing cycles.
This would be particularly useful for local business rate payers, particularly those that require substantial water consumption: hairdressers, pet groomers, launderettes,
restaurants , car washes and other entities for whom
water is an essential part of their product or service.
Making sense of how the city rate structure works (we
have various units of measurement in our billing invoices that are impossible for most lay people to understand)
would be very helpful as council decides how to move
forward with citizen and business reaction to the
proposed increases.
In order for citizens and businesses to accept these
enormous rate increases a very detailed explanation of
how water is monitored and measured is in order,
particularly given the recent huge city borrowed
investment in digital infrastructure. Are we getting the value we expected? Are the data and reporting flows
working as they should? What would city staff like to see as improvements to their processes and workflows?
At this present time I would argue we don’t have enough information to justify the huge increases, how and why
they are necessary and, to use corporate terminology, how city data sanctity is checked and validated.
We also have to face up to multiple issues around massive increases: we may well lose a lot of businesses, the cost of a haircut, carwash, laundry etc will get a lot more
expensive as costs are passed on to consumers. Obviously low income residents will really struggle to absorb this latest inflationary squeeze.
This is very tough for the city which is also struggling with budget shortfalls. Do we also have an issue with data accuracy and sanctity in other areas that are skewing
budget numbers? I feel we really need accurate baseline before making any serious decisions.
I do feel the city is having a major reality check and
moving in the right direction, and appreciate all the hard work as we finally attempt to paddle away from the edge of the waterfall…
Oliver Marks
Downtown Sebastopol