The Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water) Board of Directors on Tuesday voted to increase wholesale water rates to address the pressing needs of aging infrastructure.
The adjusted wholesale water rates are forecasted to make a modest impact on household budgets of between $2 to $3 per month, based on location and water usage. Funds produced by these rates will largely go toward operations and maintenance of Sonoma Water’s supply and distribution infrastructure, including cathodic protection to stave off rusting aqueducts, replacement of aging pumps and valves, enhancements in water treatment processes and upkeep of water storage tanks.
In recent years, resources were redirected to respond to the impacts of wildfires and the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving critical infrastructure maintenance postponed.
“This increase manages to balance the needs of water retailers and the mission to ensure the reliability and efficiency of water delivery, leak prevention and mitigation against system failures,” Board Chair David Rabbitt said. “These critical upgrades to our water infrastructure are needed to continue providing clean and reliable drinking water to more than 600,000 people in Sonoma and Marin counties.”
The wholesale water rate adjustments for the aqueducts will see increments ranging from 8.14 percent to 9.98 percent. With the new rates, local water providers will be subject to an approximate charge of $0.004 per gallon, or less than half a cent, positioning Sonoma Water with some of the lowest wholesale water rates in the Bay Area.
Sonoma Water remains dedicated to delivering water supply, flood protection and sanitation services across portions of Sonoma and Marin counties. Stay connected online at www.sonomawater.org.
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