LAKEPORT >> The Lake County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to discuss possible solutions to Lucerne’s water system today.
“I would like to put together a small team consisting of special districts, myself and county counsel,” District 3 Supervisor Jim Steele stated in a memorandum to the board.
The California Water Service Company, which oversees the Lucerne water system, will be invited to participate in the process.
Lucerne has had multiple rate increase from Cal Water since 2008, with the most recent being in January, when Lucerne residents’ rates per 100 cubic foot of water rose from $14.65 to $16.06 while the smallest 5/8 by 3/4 inch meter monthly charge rose from $50.26 to $51.39.
The increase was the result of the Sales Reconciliation Mechanism (SRM), which is the second mechanism created to maintain the company’s revenues when their consumers conserve water.
The first, called The Water Revenue Adjustment Mechanism (WRAM), was created in 2008 and is a surcharge applied 12 to 36 months following the loss of revenue and allows Cal Water to recover the difference between actual revenues collected and the amount of revenue it was authorized to collect by the CPUC.
Additionally, the company entered into a loan agreement with the state’s Department of Public Health for just over $7 million upon completion of a new water treatment plant in the community, which has resulted in an increase in repayment charges for residents.
Furthermore, some Lucerne residents could see reduced rates if the proposed Assembly Bill (AB) 401 is implemented.
Introduced in February by Assemblymember Bill Dodd AB 401 would require the Department of Community Services and Development and the Board of Equalization to develop a Low-Income Water Rate Assistance Program for household with less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
If implemented, the program would go into effect Jan. 1, 2017.
Contact J. W. Burch, IV at 900-2022.
