Pass-through Rate Increase Effective July 2022
The Mid-Peninsula Water District (MPWD) is a community-owned and governed public agency that provides water service to Belmont, a portion of San Carlos, and surrounding areas in San Mateo County. MPWD relies entirely on water purchased from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) for the community’s water supply. This notice is posted to inform you, pursuant to California Government Code 53756, that the MPWD is implementing pass-through increases by the SFPUC in its wholesale water rates over the next two (2) years to fund its costs of providing water service, pay for wholesale water supplied by the SFPUC, and recover costs of providing service during periods of drought and reduced water sales. Effective July 1, 2022, the pass-through increase for wholesale water supplied to the MPWD will be 0.65¢ per unit.
The MPWD held a public hearing on the proposed pass-through rate adjustments during the May 26 Regular Board Meeting:
- Date: Thursday, May 26, 2022
- Time: 6:30 p.m.
- Place: Virtual Meeting on Zoom
Pursuant to California Government Code 53756, MPWD is adjusting its water rates to pass-through future increases or decreases in SFPUC wholesale water rates by the same amount as any variation between the future SFPUC wholesale rates and the baseline SFPUC wholesale rates on which current MPWD rates are based. For example: If the SFPUC increased the MPWD’s wholesale water rate by 0.65¢ per unit, the MPWD would be authorized to pass that increase along by increasing its per unit rates by 0.65¢ to ensure MPWD rates continue to recover the cost of wholesale water supply. Under this scenario, the MPWD’s current per unit rate for 0-2 units of water is $5.86, which would increase to $6.51 per unit. See chart below.
For the average MPWD customer (9 units/month), the example pass-through increase will result in charges as seen below...
Prior to initiating the pass-through for SFPUC wholesale rates, the MPWD sent notification to all customers at least 30 days prior to implementing any adjustments.
DOWNLOAD THE PROP 218 NOTICE MAILER HERE (PDF)
DOWNLOAD THE RATE CHANGE MAILER HERE (PDF)
WHAT CAN CUSTOMERS DO TO MINIMIZE THE IMPACT OF PASS-THROUGH RATE INCREASES?
To minimize the impact of the pass-through rate increases, customers are encouraged to continue conserving and to further reduce indoor and outdoor water use where possible. As a member of the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency, the MPWD offers rebates for 1) smart irrigation controllers, 2) drip irrigation hardware, 3) rain barrels, and 4) transitioning turf lawns to drought tolerant landscaping. For more information on any of these rebate programs or other water conservation opportunities, please visit the MPWD website at MidPeninsulaWater.org/rebates
