City staff recommended Wednesday that the City Council adopt a 7.5
percent water rate increase for 2016 and approve a plan for future
increases from 2017 to 2020.
Council members said they will continue discussions about improving
billing procedures at the San Antonio Water System, while reaching out
to families eligible for affordability programs.
projected for 2017 and beyond as the maximum amounts the utility will
pursue to provide water and sewer service for 1.7 million people.
“They understand these are caps, and they want us to come under those caps,” Puente said.
The council is set to vote Nov. 19 on the rate increase, as well as
on a plan to raise the overall water rate to 7.9 percent in 2017 and to
increase the SAWS water supply fee from 2018 to 2020.
The increases would support the Vista Ridge pipeline, federally
mandated sewer upgrades, brackish water desalination, and replacement of
hundreds of miles of the city’s aging sewer and water lines.
The city’s chief financial officer, Ben Gorzell, recommended that the
council approve the rate plan and an updated rate structure to take
effect Jan. 1, expanding the number of residential billing rate blocks
from four to eight.
He also recommended “additional assistance” to low-income customers
whose monthly use exceeds 6,000 gallons; improvements in billing
procedures; and continued efforts to prevent “water loss.” SAWS
estimates that 16 percent of its water is lost through leaks, flushing
of lines and other factors or is not registered by outdated water
meters.
Some of the 42 positions being added by SAWS in 2016 will be focused
on customer service, leak repair, sewer upgrades and technology
upgrades. Gorzell noted the recent rash of high bills SAWS sent out, stirring complaints from customers at a time when rate increases are planned over several years.
The council has wrestled with the proposals, and delayed action by
three weeks, as the matter also has become clouded with opposition to
the Central Texas pipeline and delays in the final release of what was
intended to be a comprehensive city water policy report.
Although the council unanimously approved a contract last year
between SAWS and a private consortium to fund and build the Vista Ridge
pipeline, to carry up to 16.3 billion gallons annually to San Antonio as
early as 2020, Councilman Ron Nirenberg has asked pointed questions about it.
The project will initially force SAWS to raise rates to help finance
the 142-mile pipeline from Burleson County and will provide some of the
state’s most expensive water, at more than $2,000 per acre-foot,
according to SAWS. Officials have said the project will secure a
long-term supply for the city’s growth, with costs certain to fall by
the time SAWS retains ownership of the pipeline in 2050.
The council asked Wednesday about the financial stability of the
consortium, led by an affiliate of Abengoa, an international utility and
energy conglomerate. The subsidiary, Abengoa Vista Ridge, is “shielded”
from financial default by the parent company, SAWS Chief Financial
Officer Doug Evanson told the council.
Wednesday’s work session was less contentious than one a week
earlier, when Nirenberg told Puente he would keep asking questions so
the public can fully understand the complex pipeline deal “in the
context of what we’re trying to do in the next 30 to 60 years.”
Nirenberg has said the council should review the Texas A&M
University water policy report before voting on a SAWS rate increase.
The study is scheduled for presentation to the council Nov. 12 and
public comment later that day, and at a Nov. 18 council work session. A
July draft version
leaked to the San Antonio Express-News in September and later posted by
Mayor Ivy Taylor called Vista Ridge a “high-risk” project, but one that
could be needed to help the city avoid a future water deficit.
shuddleston
@express-news.net
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