City Staff Recommend Applying Drought Level 1 Price Increase

San Angelo's City Council will entertain raising water rates 5%-20% and restricting water usage under Drought 1  restrictions enacted when the city reaches a 24 month supply of water. City Council's background packet does not reveal the method city staff used to calculate the 24 month supply.

Past presentations assumed no runoff rain for the period and apply a loss of five feet per year in evaporation.  Publicly available data shows the city's primary water source O. H. Ivie with over 83,000 acre feet.  The city shares this water supply with Midland and Abilene.

San Angelo's three local lakes contain over 36,000 acre feet as of 7-14-18.  Add our one third share of Ivie and current water supply is 64,000 acre feet.

The city uses 13,441 acre feet per year according to its website.  That is 4.76 years of surface water left, not including any water from the Hickory aquifer.

City Council raised water rates  the last three years.

2016 - Average increase of $5.88 per month
2017 - Average increase of $6.56 per month.
2018 -Average increase of $7.32 per month

A look out the horizon reveals two more rate increases planned for 2019 and 2020.  Combined they total $7.96 per month. 

The city changed its water supply forecasts under Ricky Dickson.  Former Water Chief Will Wilde did not apply the heavy evaporation load when forecasting months of water supply remaining.  As a result citizens pay increased water rates earlier than before.  

Here's how council's background packet predicts the "financial impact:"

Usage Fees will be assessed per City's Code of Ordinances.

Drought level one pricing is (from the city's website):

• Landscape: 1.1     10% increase
• Nonresidential: 1.05      5% increase
• Residential users: 
  • Usage from 0 to 2,000 gallons: none
  • Usage from 3,000 to 15,000 gallons: 1.05      5% increase
  • Usage from 16,000 to 39,000 gallons: 1.1      10% increase
  • Usage over 39,000 gallons: 1.2                       20% increase
• Fire hydrants and untreated water: none

Citizens need to begin reducing water usage to make the supply last longer but 5% to 20%  price increases are excessive on top of the 38.6% water rate hike imposed by council the last 31 months.

City Council has an obligation to ensure the 24 month remaining supply calculation is fair to all concerned and that citizens don't pay excessive water fees.  

Update 7-15-18:  The Standard Times ran a story on water rates increasing under Drought Level 1.. Also, I asked city staff for the methodology used to project remaining water supply and encouraged Mayor Gunter to have staff present their assumptions to City Council on 7-17.  That the public can be informed for a likely $100,000 community wide price increase for August under drought level one restrictions.

Update 7-16-18:  The May 21st Water Advisory Board heard a presentation from staff on the methodology the city uses to project remaining water supply.  Board member Chuck Brown commented that our three local lakes held 41,000 acre feet.  Add Lake Ivie and Brown said area lakes held 138,000 acre feet.  That is ten times the city's annual usage.

Update 7-17-18:  City Council unanimously passed placing the city under Drought Level 1 status as of August 1, 2018.  The city produced a slick video on Water restrictions but the actual City Council discussion/action was not available on the city's YouTube page around 7:00 pm.  At 9:00 pm I was able to access City Council's discussion of Drought Level 1.  It is worth the watch as the discussion was substantive from both staff and council..