Water bills may be increasing for Atascadero residents. Here’s how much
Atascadero water customers may see their bills increase next month.
The staff at Atascadero Mutual Water Co. will ask the Board of Directors to approve a roughly 7% increase in water rates at its meeting on April 13.
The proposed increase would add $4 for the average customer living in a single-family home, according to the release.
The rate increase is intended to cover operational costs — such as electricity, water treatment chemicals and insurance — as well as capital investments such as construction of a new booster station and repairs to existing wells, valves, water services and pipelines.
Money will also go to compliance with various regulations, according to a news release from the water company, including programs such as the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, National Pollution Discharge Elimination System, Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, Urban Water Master Plan preparation and annual State Water Resources Board fees, among others, the release said.
The company also anticipates significant costs to remove polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — called “forever chemicals” — from its wells that contain contaminants above the response levels established by the California State Water Resources Board in February 2020, according to the release.
In November, Atascadero Mutual Water Co. sued the prominent manufacturers of PFAS to try to recover some of the costs associated with removing the contaminants from the water.
“We’re looking at several million dollars in capital costs and several hundred thousand dollars a year in maintenance costs,” Atascadero Mutual Water Co. General Manager John Neil told The Tribune. “These manufacturers knew that there was an issue with these chemicals in the environment.”
Atascadero Mutual Water Co. increased the rates for water for customers in 2018, according to past Tribune coverage.
This story was originally published March 19, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
