Manteca residents currently have the lowest water rates among all South County cities as well as Stockton and Modesto.

That won’t be the case after May 2025 if a proposed rate hike for water that goes before the Manteca City Council Tuesday to start the Proposition 218 vetting process is implemented.

Based on basic service charge and a household with average water consumption of 16 hundred cubic feet of water a month, Manteca now has the rock bottom cost of $33.63.

If and when the proposed water rate is fully implemented after five years, the average household cost in Manteca reflecting typical water use would be $60.75.

That would then be higher than Lodi at $41.39, Tracy at $42.50, Ripon at $52.58, Sacramento at $59.06, and Modesto at $60.19.

It should be noted that assumes none of the mentioned jurisdictions between now and July 1, 2028 institute annual rate hikes.

Manteca at full implementation of the proposed water rate hike would still be lower than the current charges for Stockton at $81.06, Lathrop at $84.31, Fairfield at $85.24, Brentwood at $92.30, Pleasanton at $109.08, Contra Costa at $123.20, and East Bay Municipal Utility District at $126.81.

Manteca’s water enterprise account currently collects $13 million a year from ratepayers.

That is against basic operating expenses of $19 million a year.

The cash balance on July 1 was $6.4 million.

In addition to the need to cover operating costs, there is significant capital improvement work that needs to be done to the aging infrastructure of the water system.

The City Council will also have a sewer rate increase before them on Tuesday.

Neither sewer or water rates have been raised for 15 years.

In addition to needing to cover basic operating costs, the existing water and sewer system has $663 million in improvements needed by 2045 to replace aging pumps and to prevent aging lines from failing among other things.

The current combined base rates of sewer and water service in Manteca is $60.45.

That rates were put in place in 2009.

The base rates for sewer and water will be at $107.03 when fully implemented in 2028 while solid waste will be at $63.07 compared to the current $50.92.

If the new sewer and water rates are implemented on May 15, 2025 as proposed, the three combined municipal services will cost a minimum of $134.49 compared to $111.47 some  six months from now. That reflects a $23.02 a month hike in utility billing starting in May.

Assuming the council gives the go ahead Tuesday, it will trigger the Proposition 218 process.

It requires mailing notices 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 2 p.m. at the Manteca Transit Center, 220 Moffat Blvd.

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