Water billing to promote conservation

Changes in the way water is billed are being mandated by a new state law to promote conservation. But what the rate changes will look like for Rochester (Minnesota) Public Utilities customers is up for discussion.  The utilities company hired a consultant to study possible conservation rate alternatives, which could be discussed possibly as early as the next meeting of the RPU board Sept. 29. The board would then seek public input and discussion on the proposed conservation rates.

"The idea is to be revenue neutral," said General Manager Larry Koshire, explaining that rate changes should not increase or decrease the water utility income. "If it works right, it would not sink the water utility."  And while the goal is also to have a zero rate increase overall for electric and water customers, that doesn't mean some customers won't pay more.   "Some rates will go up and some will go down," said Board President Jerry Williams.

A preliminary plan for the conservation rate targets irrigation, in hopes that higher rates would lead people to conserve water, Koshire said.  A draft of the electric and water operating budgets, along with any proposed rate adjustments, is expected to be presented at the Oct. 27 board meeting.

42% price hike!

Pittsville Wisconsin residential water bills will be 42 percent higher next year after the Wisconsin Public Service Commission authorized the utility's first rate increase since 1996.  Average residential customers paying $53.15 quarterly for 9,000 gallons of water will pay $75.24 when the new rates take effect in January. The new rates include public fire protection charges for fire hydrants and other firefighting-related infrastructure that was previously collected on property tax bills.  Excluding public fire protection charges from the calculation results in a 17 percent increase from $53.14 to $62.34 for average residential customers using 9,000 gallons per quarter, according to the PSC order issued Friday.

The Pittsville Municipal Water Utility needs more revenue to finance its search for water to supply the Gardner Cold Storage Co. facility, which can process 3 million pounds of cranberries a month.  "Their juice plant uses a lot of water, and they're putting on a freezer addition, adding to their capacity," said Pittsville Councilman Gerald Jensen.  To boost the water supply, Pittsville consolidated two wells and is looking for another well site on the north side of the city, Jensen said. The utility's other major capital investment was a water filtration plant to lower iron concentrations in groundwater.

Rates for commercial and industrial water customers will increase 23 to 25 percent, depending on the size of their connection, excluding the public fire protection charge. Adding the public fire protection charge will increase rates from 29 to 38 percent for the six commercial customer categories and 29 or 33 percent for the two industrial customer categories.  The utility sought a 5 percent rate of return on the value of its investment in the infrastructure last fall when it applied for the rate increase. PSC staff recommended a 1 or 2 percent increase, and the utility choose the 1 percent return, which will increase annual revenue by $25,083 to $239,681.

Ga., Ala. power companies have huge stake, influence in water wars

Georgia, Alabama and Florida have been quarreling for nearly 20 years over the Chattahoochee River. But there’s another player in the game, working mostly in the background, wielding enormous influence.  Georgia Power and Alabama Power, both owned by Southern Co. and both drawing huge quantities of water from the river, have huge stakes in the dispute. Perhaps predictably, their presence has simply given the states more to argue about.

The latest spat was prompted by Gov. Sonny Perdue’s recent decision to appoint the head of Georgia Power to lead a team of state business and political leaders that is advising the governor on how to proceed.  Alabama Gov. Bob Riley and Sen. Richard Shelby have decried the appointment of Georgia Power President Michael Garrett. But Perdue, calling the Alabama complaints “hypocritical,” pointed out Wednesday that Alabama Power has always had an active role in fighting the water wars.

Who looks after the gamekeepers?

The validity of some of the 2,400 concealed weapons permits issued to Shasta County (California) residents is in question after it was discovered that a Sheriff's Office clerk may have pocketed applicants' fees. As first reported on Redding.com, Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko said Friday that the woman's co-workers uncovered the alleged thefts in early June. The woman, a 17-year veteran clerk with the sheriff's records department, was placed on administrative leave as soon as the allegations could be verified, Bosenko said. At least 100 permit holders, mostly renewals, have been identified so far as possible victims, Bosenko said.

The woman is no longer employed with the Sheriff's Office, and Redding police are investigating the matter for possible criminal charges, Bosenko said. Bosenko declined to name the woman because no charges have been filed and criminal and internal affairs investigations are still under way. He wouldn't say whether the woman was fired or resigned. Bosenko said it's believed that the clerk took concealed weapons applicants' cash and gave them copies of their permits. She then pocketed the money and didn't file the appropriate paperwork with the county or the state Department of Justice, Bosenko said.

Winnipeg's new utility

The Canadian city of Winnipeg's long-running saga about the creation of a new water utility seems over. After a marathon session, city council voted in favour of creating an arm's-length utility to manage Winnipeg's water and waste services. After a day that began with protests against water privatization outside city hall, a sometimes packed council chamber gallery heard barbed exchanges among councillors and accusations of grandstanding as the motion to create the new utility was passed by a 10-6 margin.

“(Today) I witnessed a display of hypocrisy and doublespeak that has become synonymous with the self-proclaimed official opposition to progress in our city,” Katz said during the meeting. “The sky isn't red, the world isn't flat, we're not privatizing water.”

City administrators have said the business-like, city-owned agency -- to be overseen by a board outside the city bureaucracy and possibly partnered with a private engineering firm -- might help the city better handle costs such as an estimated $600-million bill for planned upgrades to North End and South End water pollution control centres. Under the new arrangement, the city may work with private companies to complete sewage-plant upgrades and could partner with other municipalities to share infrastructure.

An estimated crowd of nearly 200 people converged this morning on the Main Street complex – the vast majority of them hoping to sway Mayor Sam Katz and councillors against a plan to launch a municipal utility. Numerous delegations also spoke to council at the meeting which stretched from 9:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m., when the motion on the new utility was passed.

Council debated the core issue, several amendments to the utility motion and a motion – which was defeated – to defer the vote until fall after more public consultation and research could be undertaken. Several amendments to the utility motion were also passed including one that would require a referendum on any move to sell or privatize the municipal water utility, another that lays out rules for agreements between the city and capital region municipalities and for dealing with strategic partners and a third that keeps the setting of water and sewer rates under the city's control for the time being.

Saving water

Americans can save some of the 225 billion gallons of water (852 billion liters) wasted each year through over-watering by installing smart systems which deliver just the right amount of moisture. Homeowners and companies over-water their grass and plants by between 30 and 300 percent, said Chris Spain, chief sustainability officer at water management company HydroPoint, citing a report by the American Water Works Association.

"The reason for the waste is because of dumb technology," Spain said. "There are 45 million irrigation systems in the U.S. (controlled) by simple timers. They do a great job of keeping time but a lousy job of irrigating to what the land requires." City landscaping, or "urban irrigation," makes up 58 percent of urban water use, Spain said, adding that the water wasted generates over 544,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases annually.

Smart irrigation systems are programed to optimize water use based on parameters including plant and soil types and amount of sunlight, and also feature weather sensors that monitor soil moisture levels following rainfall.

Getting the bills right

Thousands of property owners in Maricopa County may have paid an incorrect amount on their property taxes. The Maricopa County Assessor Keith Russell has launched a review of all of the county’s records. It is the first review of property tax records since 1994.

According to the Associated Press, the city of Chandler has already found 248 errors in their property tax rolls. Peoria has found around 1,000 mistakes. “We do pay a lot so if there is an error, I would want it to be known,” said Pheonix property owner Victor Harris. “That would concern me a lot,” added Ivan Huish, who owns property in Mesa.

Possible errors on the rolls might include being incorrectly listed as a resident of Phoenix or Tempe, which may have higher municipal tax rates than the city where the home actually exists. Property tax billing software can only do so much. A bill can still be calculated consistently if the valuation parameters provided are incorrect.