Vale
ncia Water Co. officials are having a special public hearing in April to discuss a proposed increase of water rates for a two-year period beginning May 1.
The proposed rate increase would raise the average general metered household’s water bill to $1.64 per month by 2017, according to Valencia Water Company officials. That cost is based on the average usage of 100 cubic feet of water monthly, or about 750 gallons.
The current rate, based on 100 cubic feet, is $1.47, officials said Thursday.
The water retailer’s governing board is hosting the meeting April 2 at 6 p.m. in Valencia High Schools multi-purpose room, and it’s open to the public.
“The board plans to take action at that meeting,” said Keith Abercrombie, Valencia Water Company’s general manager.
The first rate increase, if adopted, will go into effect May 1; a second one would then take place Jan. 1, 2016; the final rate increase, and for the last time on Jan. 1, 2017.
About 35 percent of VWC water is expected to be bought from Castaic Lake Water Agency in 2015, according to VWC officials. That number is expected to rise to 50 percent by 2017.
Board members will consider all oral and written testimony regarding the proposal, but all written comments or objections must be signed and submitted by a customer or property owner prior to the meeting.
The rates are expected to produce an increase in annual revenue of 7.62 percent in 2015, a 4.37 percent increase in 2016 and a 2.32 percent increase in 2017.
For more information on the proposed rates click here.
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29 Comments
Kim Gibbs
Wait but they continue to build all these developments… How’s this logical
Up on Sand Canyon where there’s a mobile home park they’re going to tear it out to build lots of homes and a huge hotel. you want to to raise our water really! Stop building homes!
But the water company in Valencia doesn’t have any say in whether the city government allows development in Canyon Country…
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that we are in a drought so why would they even build more homes, more homes means more water
It also means more taxes for them, so there’s your answer.
Yipee, they are going to charge us more money for the white cloudy liquid that comes out of our faucets that they call “water.” Can we at least get a clear liquid before you raise the rates?
Exactly Laura AndRick Harms and Krystal Mora Patrick Drury!! Why keep building then? $$$ sickening!!
I am going to this meeting and I hope that everyone else does too.
THESE PEOPLE HAVE A HECK OF A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO REGARDING THE WATER QUALITY!!!
Wtf?
Why are they building all these new homes & condos, if Santa Clarita is low on water! STUPID!
Yes, waste water for a picture. Good idea.
It really doesn’t matter if they serve additional homes – except that they apparently expect us, their existing customers, to finance their infrastructure build out. They can go to hell with that idea. They need to invest in a filtration plant to remove the unspeakably high dissolved solids in their water that essentially destroy every piece of metal in your house – pipes, dishwashers, clothes washers – all of it.
I can’t even drink the water we are overcharged for now because it is so hard and tastes awful. For years I had to have a water softener and drinking water delivered after the calcium deposits ruined my ice maker, coffee maker, water heater and my family’s skin. Now I have a reverse osmosis system for my drinking water. Still all at extra cost to me. I am furious at the possible rate hike. Make our water safe for drinking and home use!
Cathy that is absolutely the whole point. They deliver water that destroys property. To keep that from happening you have to soften it but then you can’t drink it. To make it drinkable you have to run it through an RO unit or buy bottled water. Even with an RO unit my extra monthly cost is about $ 50.00. This does not include what I pay Valencia Water to deliver the crap to begin with. And now they want a rate increase ? What I think they should get is a class action lawsuit.
This wouldn’t be a result of Castaic Lake Water Agencies illegal eminent domain take over of VWC would it? All of their SCWC rates are higher than VWC’s.
The water companies have nothing to do with the development that is taking place or the landscaping being installed. They provide water and that’s it. The City does not own the water companies, the city is a customer and pays for their water just like the rest of us. Sometimes that gets confused because one of the providers is called “Santa Clarita Water Company” (SCWC)but they are not city owned like DWP is owned by the City of LA. It does leave one to ponder though the rate hikes when most of us residents are doing everything we can to help conserve water by using less but are going to have to pay more? Maybe the developers should have additional increase in fees to use as much water as they do for dust control and compaction when creating certified pads to build on?
I want to know why i see water trucks filling their trucks up in the middle of the night and why do they keep watering dirt that is a waste of water
Not sure why they fill up at night but dirt is usually watered to keep dust from forming. This has nothing to do with the rate increase.
Me too. I don’t have reverse but I but water to drink. Have to use extra chemicals to get the dishes to look and be clean !! Hard water spots everywhere
Their “water” broke our new refrigerator’s ice maker and coffee maker! There’s no point of putting dishes in our dishwasher because they one out looking dirtier than they did before! Not everyone can afford a softener/ reverse osmosis system. Time to make our water usable! We can’t even drink it.. We spend a fortune for it and it’s not safe. Sick of this!!
The only thing I use that water for is showers and the lawn 2x a week urghhh
The only thing I use that water for is showers and the lawn 2x a week urghhh
I just found out that Valencia Water Company is no longer under the jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities Commission, meaning their are no controls on their rates despite the fact that they are a monopoly. I have no idea how they accomplished (or even if it is legal) this but it becomes effective February 27 of this year. The only public agency they remain accountable to is the Board of Health – at least for now. I am sure this was a great victory for them since they are now free to raise rates as often and as much as they like, but I don’t think they factored in the effects of thousands of very angry customers. The fact that the CPUC is no longer in the picture does not grant them immunity from legal action for destroying property.
We reported on this (several times) when VWC was sold to CLWA. Only private companies are regulated by the CPUC. Public water utilities (CLWA, NCWD, SCWC, now VWC) are regulated by the public, at the ballot box.
In what way are public water companies regulated by voters ? What sort of things might be available to vote on ?
Well, the board, of course…. the public votes them in and/or out. It’s all spelled out in the elections and public utilities codes.
Thank you. Do you know when the next election is?
Every other year – even years. There just was one in November.