Coastside Buzz

Explore the Coast - Coastside Calendar & Directory - Articles, Podcasts & Video

MENUMENU
  • Home
  • Content
    • Multi-Media
      • The Coastal Butterfly
      • Coastside Disaster Prep
      • Coastside History
      • Coastsider Musicians
      • Phog Foundation
      • Surf Sessions
      • Writers Corner
        • Boys of the 60s
        • Wrong Shirt - A Memoir Series
    • Podcasts
      • Bedtime Stories
      • CoasTalk
      • Eclectic Radio Show
      • Fun On The Coast
      • Gone Fishing
      • HMBHS Cougar Radio
      • Just Call Wick
      • KHMB
    • Own Voice
      • Coastside Beach Ambassadors
      • InPerspective
    • Public Agencies
      • Cabrillo Unified School District
      • City of HMB Planning Commission
      • Coastside County Water District (CCWD)
      • Coastside Fire Protection District
      • Granada Community Services District (GCSD)
      • Half Moon Bay City Council
      • MidCoast Community Council (MCC)
      • Montara Water and Sewer District (MWSD)
      • San Mateo County
      • San Mateo County Harbor District
      • Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside (SAM)
  • BUZZ Calendar
  • BUZZ Directory
    • View the Directory
    • How it Works - Join Today
  • About
    • Promotion
    • Buzz Productions : Photo-Essays, Podcasts, Audiobooks and Videos
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Founder Bio
  • Contact
  • Elections 2022
You are here: Home / Home Top List / InPerspective: The Dirty Truth About Sewer Finances 

InPerspective: The Dirty Truth About Sewer Finances 

February 13, 2020 by Michelle 2 Comments

ARTICLE from Gregg Dieguez. 

Readers in Montara are about to see major increases in all of their water, sewer, and garbage rates. Half Moon Bay has already done major increases. More are likely.

San Mateo has a $1 billion Clean Water Program to upgrade a wastewater treatment plant for less than 25% of the county’s population, and more for other asset replenishment projects.

SAM had a major sewer spill, that could have cost over $7 million in fines, because under-maintained pipes failed.

The American Water Works Association reports that nationally rates will be TRIPLING – and that it will be WORSE on the West Coast. What’s going on? 

A simple Q&A will illustrate the causality at work: 

  1. Q: Why are all the water and sewer agencies raising rates and borrowing so much money for infrastructure replenishment?     A: Because they don’t have the money to pay for those projects. 
  2. Q: Why DON’T they have the money to pay for those projects?    A: Because the rates and connection fees they’re been charging aren’t high enough to cover both operations and maintenance, and ongoing asset replenishment. 
  3. Q: Why AREN’T the rates and connection fees high enough?   A: And this is where it gets interesting:
    • Because customers and developers fight rate and fee increases. Hey, who wants to pay more? There have been complaints, even grand jury investigations, when public works agencies have “too many reserves”.
    • Because when you raise rates, those pesky customers use less, and you don’t always get more revenue. It’s simple supply and demand; when you raise the price of a good, people consume less. But the infrastructure for a household doesn’t change, whether you drip or drench. And as long as water and sewer charges are volumetric, the agencies will face a revenue volatility mismatched with the continuity of their asset burdens.
    • Because public works financial management has been looking at the short term, and not reserving for the longer term assets, which eventually reach a critical level. A standard practice when setting rates is to look at a five (5) year capital improvement plan – when the asset lifetimes may extend to 100 years. A standard practice when setting connection fees is to look at just the initial cost of the incremental investments needed to support a given project.
    • Growth hasn’t paid its fair share toward the infrastructure it burdens. 

So what SHOULD we do about future water and sewer rates, so we don’t have to double and triple the project costs by borrowing? Which in turn leads to a legacy of even HIGHER rates… And so that we don’t risk further sewer spills? Well, that will take another, more detailed financial article, but keep this simple truth in mind: 

Water and sewer rates and connection fees have been too low, which is why systems are failing, and the reserves do not exist to fund them. 

A future article will detail the financial management solutions, and why growth doesn’t pay for itself. Let’s call it: “Growth Is A Ponzi Scheme.”

See you then.

~ Gregg Dieguez

 


 

More Gregg InPerspective

 


 

 Coastside Buzz Philosophy

Related

Filed Under: Home Top List, InPerspective, Podcasts, Public Agencies, Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside (SAM) Tagged With: 2020, Coastside, disaster, Education, election, emergency, emergency prep, Half Moon Bay, history, HMB, planning, san mateo county, sewer, stories, vote

Subscribe
Login
Notify of
guest
Only 1 hyperlink per comment allowed. Swear words will not be published.
guest
2 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
August West
August West
2 years ago

This article is unsupported, ignorant of history and mostly false.

0
Reply
Michelle
Author
Michelle
2 years ago
Reply to  August West

I would love a more specific response, August. Coastside Buzz gives everyone a voice in their own words. You can submit here in comments, or I can create a post for you. Im fairly well informed as I watch the public agency meetings, have lived here for 30 years and used to work for a local water engineer, but I am never afraid to be schooled! :-)

0
Reply

Follow Us!

CoastsideBuzz Instagram Icon Link Coastsidebuzz Facebook Icon Link

SUBSCRIBE TO WEEKLY BUZZMAIL


Mavericks PaddleSports Live Cam of Pillar Point Harbor

Half Moon Bay Coastside Tours Logo thumbnail
KHMB Coastside Radio logo
Half Moon Bay Chamber of Commerce Logo
Pacifica Chamber
surf-shop mavericks
hmb review Oceano Hotel and Spa
hmb brew co logo

Coastside Buzz

About
Contact

Work With Us

Promotion
Buzz Productions

CoastsideBuzz Newsletter

Join Us on Facebook

Join Us on Facebook

Search

© Copyright 2023 · CoastsideBuzz.com · Half Moon Bay, California · All Rights Reserved

wpDiscuz
 

Loading Comments...