The average Manteca household that uses the equivalent of 11,968 gallons of water a month will see their city water/sewer charges rise by $94.35 a month over the next 3½ years.
Why the city needs the four-step rate increases targeted to go into effect May 15 will be shared at a community workshop set for Thursday, Jan. 30, at 2 p.m. at the Manteca Transit Center, 220 Moffat Blvd.
That would mean the average Manteca household will be paying $171.28 for water and sewer service when July 1, 2028 rolls around.
Add in solid waste charges that will be increased to $63.07 a month, the typical Manteca household will be paying the city $234.35 a month for water, sewer, and garbage service by mid-2028.
The big variable is water consumption.
The city charges per 100 cubic feet (748 gallons) of water used.
There are homes with one or two residents with drought resistant landscaping that consume roughly 25 percent of the citywide average. As the result, they have — and will have — a somewhat lower municipal utility bill than the typical Manteca household.
The first proposed Manteca water rate hikes in 15 years doesn’t include a price break for keeping actual water use low.
A court decision has determined such pricing is illegal under Proposition 218 — a ballot measure passed by the voters in the 1990s to regulate how government could impose fees for services.
As such, the fees can’t be higher than it costs a local judication to provide them.
That means charging someone higher when they use larger volumes of water is now illegal.
The three-tiered water use pricing the city now has in place was actually required by the state when the current rates were adopted in order to encourage water conservation.
Currently, the lowest flat water rate for households based on those with a 3/4 inch connection is $17.15. That rate would go to $21.24 on May 15, 2025, $27.60 on July 1, 2026, $32.57 on July 1, 2027, and $34.53 on July 1, 2028.
Actual water use is charged per hundred cubic feet.
The current rate structure charges $1.03 per HCF up to 20 HCF. The charge is $1.35 per HCF for up to 300 HCF. After that, the per HCF charge goes to $2.72 initially.
It would start at $2.47 per HCF on May 15. 2025. It would then go to $3.22 on July 1, 2026, $3.80 on July 1, 2027, and $4.03 on July 1, 2028.
Thee proposed sewer rate hike goes from the current $43.40 a month to $72.50 a month by July 1, 2028. The sewer rate, just like the ware rate, hasn’t been increased in 15 years.
But because rates were never increased, reserves were dipped into and capital needs involving existing water system infrastructure wasn’t being addressed.
There are also pressing needs that still need to be addressed.
The bottom financial line of the water master plan and wastewater master plan updates the City Council accepted 13 months ago: Manteca needs to spend in excess of $633 million on water and wastewater system improvements through 2045.
In addition, wages and operating costs such as electricity have all gone up.
The process ahead
The Proposition 218 process requires several steps.
Notices have already been mailed to all of Manteca’s 24,000 plus utility customers.
Two community meetings are planned to explain the justification for the rate hikes. They will take place Jan. 29 and Feb. 26 at the Manteca Transit Center, 220 Moffat Blvd.
Based on direction from the council, the Feb. 26 meeting will take place in the evening to allow commuters to attend.
There is a March 3 deadline to submit protests.
The first hearing on the rate hike is March 18 and the second is April 15.
If 50 percent plus one of the 24,000 plus utility customers don’t indicate they are against the rate hikes in writing, the council can proceed.
The fees would be put in place May 15.
Given the high threshold, it is fairly unlikely enough written protests would be submitted to stop the rate hikes.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
