Water bills in South County could increase if the Santa Clara
Valley Water District board of directors moves on an agenda item
that examines the feasibility of combining its two groundwater
zones
– North and South County – into one zone encompassing all of
Santa Clara County.
Water bills in South County could increase if the Santa Clara Valley Water District board of directors moves on an agenda item that examines the feasibility of combining its two groundwater zones – North and South County – into one zone encompassing all of Santa Clara County. Since 1988, the county has been divided in to two zones; right now, North County pays $520 per acre foot while South County pays $275 per acre foot for non-agricultural water use.
The board of directors is eyeing what it would mean to create one zone, after North County’s at-large Director Tony Estremera initiated the discussion at a July board meeting.
Combining the zones into one, would mean one groundwater production charge across both zones, according to Senior Project Manager Darin Taylor, who said the rate “would likely be slightly lower than the current North County municipal and industrial groundwater charge and significantly higher than the current South County municipal and industrial groundwater charge.”
North County, which begins north of Metcalf Road and reaches to the county line, uses three treated water plants that mostly accounts for the charge discrepancy from South County, which uses no recycled water. The majority of South County’s water use is drawn from the groundwater basin in Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy and water use is operated on individual plots of land by well owners, about 4,000 of them. The cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy act as wholesale buyers of water from the district and then sell the water to individual homes.
Charges have historically been much lower than the utility infrastructure of the North County where agriculture is rare and water is derived from the three treatment plants. The report suggests that treated water could be shared among the zones if combined.
“It would be logical to seriously consider one groundwater charge zone if and when the district’s infrastructure is substantially interconnected such that water resources could be shared across both zones for the benefit of all users in both zones, and/or the level of service provided is equivalent in both zones,” the report says. Taylor said the benefit of using treated water “would improve water supply reliability by helping to preserve the groundwater subbasins,” he said.
District 4’s Director Larry Wilson, who also at board meetings has mentioned discussing one zone, said Monday he didn’t think “anything will come from it” referring to the agenda item slated for Oct. 26’s board meeting.
“Everybody in South County is on groundwater, they’re not paying for the treated water. Now if they ever started using treated water, we could talk about it,” said Wilson, who represents Santa Clara, Campbell and West San Jose. Wilson will retire from the board in December.
Wilson said the board should seriously look at the cost of agriculture rates compared with the municipal and industrial rates; he said according to the district’s federal contract, agriculture should be at the most 25 percent of the municipal and industrial price. If that were implemented, agriculture rates would be about $68.75 per acre foot in South County at the highest.
District 1 candidate and current county Supervisor Don Gage said charging the farmers more is the wrong move.
“I do not agree with that at all. There are two major reasons. No. 1, it’s going to cost South County more,” Gage said. “No. 2, if you want to preserve farming and open space and nobody can afford to farm it, it becomes unfarmable. You got to keep the rates low enough to keep it affordable.”
Candidate Tom Kruse, a Gilroy winery owner and former county supervisorial candidate, said he’s against dissolving the groundwater zones into one county zone, saying that how South County uses water is totally different from how the more industrial North County uses water.
“I think to combine them would be a mistake. I liked to see them segregated in fairness to the South County residents,” Kruse said.
Roberto Sepulveda, a dentist in San Jose and also a candidate for District 1, like his opponents is also against any formation of one groundwater charge zone.
“I think South County is really unique because they pump their own water, they do all the work. Water is free right? So it’s the cost or bringing it to people that makes up the charges, in the city they need that, South County shouldn’t have to pay,” Sepulveda said.
South County’s own sitting at-large Director Cy Mann was sure of his stance.
“They’re crazy. No way you’re going to charge South County. They can say what they want, if they can get four votes, fine. In my opinion, they can pound salt,” said Mann, who is not seeking re-election.
If the rate was averaged among South and North county zones, it would amount to $397.50 per acre foot of municipal and industrial use – a 44 percent increase for South County customers. An acre foot is enough water to supply two families of five for one year.
The city of Morgan Hill owns and operates 12 wells serving about 11,500 people in Morgan Hill. The city pays the rate of $275 per acre foot for about 8,400 acre feet of water a year or about $2.3 million.
The district uses the pricing policy called a “pooling concept” that means all water users benefit form multiple sources of water irrespective of the cost within a zone. One zone would mean water would be pooled as would the pricing structure. According to the agenda item report, “recycled water is currently not shared between the two zones, but does exist within and benefit each zone.”
If the construction of a water treatment plant and distribution pipelines were in South County – or extended from the Santa Teresa Water Treatment plant, “one groundwater zone might be appropriate.”
Currently, South County does not have a water treatment plant.
Groundwater rates have remained at $275 per acre foot for the last three years. The last increase was 2001 and they’re expected to rise to $365 by 2020 in South County and $1,070 in North County. Revenue from the current rate is about $61 million this year.
On Wednesday, the water district released a report that Anderson Dam will need $100 million to be retrofitted in case a magnitude 7.2 earthquake strikes within 2 kilometers of the dam. The chance of that happening is less than 1 percent, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Groundwater charges could also increase higher than projected because of costs associated with a retrofitting of Anderson Dam, according to Taylor. The most recent projection allocated about $127 million over the next 10 years for that expense in South County, Taylor said.
San Martin resident and well owner Bob Cerruti said a change such as this is something no well owner or neighbor of his would want; “No way. No, we don’t want it. That’s going to jack up the price of water like crazy,” he said.
Year North County Zone W-2 South County W-5
- 1998 $240 $108
-
1999 $260 $108
-
2000 $285 $115
-
2001 $310 $115
-
2002 $330 $130
-
2003 $340 $140
-
2004 $375 $160
-
2005 $405 $200
-
2006 $420 $215
-
2007 $435 $230
-
2008 $475 $255
-
2009 $520 $275
-
2010 $520 $275
-
2011* $520 $275
-
2012* $565 $285
-
2013* $615 $295
-
2014* $670 $305
-
2015* $735 $315
-
2016* $805 $325
-
2017* $880 $335
-
2018* $955 $345
-
2019* $1,015 $355
-
2020* $1,070 $365
*Recommended
