The final vote that assures Manteca households will pay $18.39 more a month for basic water and sewer charges starting with the May 15 billing cycle will take place tonight at the 6 p.m. council meeting.
It is the second reading of the ordinance approved two weeks ago.
If it passes, it goes onto effect in 30 days which is mid=May.
Also increasing are water use rates that vary significantly on consumption.
The end result of the City Council implementing the first sewer and water rates in 14 years will mean by mid-2028 the basic charge for the two municipal services will be $107 a month.
That reflects a $36.55 increase by July 2028 from the current basic combined rate of $60.45.
The rates will be bumped up on an annual basis with the biggest jump this May.
The first actual bills reflecting the new rates will appear in the mail in June.
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.
The sewer rate hike is going from the current $43.40 a month to $72.50 a month in annual steps by July 1, 2029.
It will cover:
*Ongoing operating and maintenance costs to make sure toilets can continue to be flushed. Rates haven’t been adjusted for inflation since 2010.
*Replacing or upgrading linings for existing lines to avoid them from failing as well as extending their life.
*Putting in place the existing customers’ share of gravity line work to reduce future operating costs and eliminate power outrages or lift station failures from disrupting service.
*Cover the cost of meeting new state treatment standards from nitrogen to salt that will be required in order to secure a new operating permit in 2025 to continue releasing treated wastewater to the San Joaquin River.
In addition higher connection fees already imposed on new growth will cover the tab for significantly increasing treatment plant capacity. No existing customer will contribute even a cent toward expanding treatment plant capacity.
Among the first capital improvements the proposed wastewater rate hike will tackle are aging trunk lines in Central Manteca.
The four projects targeted for completion in 2031 that also will allow additional development in the downtown and nearby areas will cost $12 million combined are:
*The West Center Street trunk line.
*The Elm Avenue/West Center Street trunk.
*Installation of a 10-inch East North Street trunk line.
*Installation of an 8 inch East Nort Street trunk line.
Three other near term projects include completing oversized lines installed for future gravity lines.
In doing so, it will eliminate the need for lift stations that would stop working during power outages as well as reduce ongoing electricity costs to operate lift stations.
Those projects include:
*The $12 million South Woodward trunk extension targeted for completion in 2031.
*The $16.1 million Union Road trunk extension targeted for completion in 2026.
*The $34.4 million north trunk extension on Airport Way targeted for competition in 2035.
The projects are part of $633 million overall in sewer system collection projects as well as water system projects the city has identified as needed to address aging pipelines and future service extensions.
Wastewater system upgrades
The 1,160 page wastewater master plan completed in late 2023 includes:
*Taking into account how nitrate loads and increases in salt and their required treatment has effectively reduced the design capacity of the city’s existing plant configuration.
*The current interim improvement to the treatment plant that will allow it to handle 8.23 million gallons of wastewater a day.
*A two-phase expansion that will add in excess of 9.3 million gallons per day of treatment capacity. The first phase will cost $146.3 million and the second $70.5 million.
*The existing “interim” project work underway has a $79.5 million price tag and involves tweaking to the existing process to assure the city will have capacity as they gear up for the major expansion
The expansion of the treatment plant is less problematic and less extension do the fact the original design of the current plant built in 2006 was done with such an expansion in mind.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
