Why are low-volume customers seeing a rate increase while high-volume customers are seeing their bills decrease?

SD1 spent nearly two years researching our sanitary sewer service costs and rates, and concluded that the current structure’s focus exclusively on water usage is out of alignment given the high fixed costs of providing sanitary sewer service. The new system spreads fixed costs, which do not change based on how much water our customers use, equally among all customers.

Before a customer uses a single drop of water, SD1 has to maintain and operate every pipe, pump station and treatment plant 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to make it possible for you to flush your toilet, wash your dishes, or take a shower. Low-volume users will see their bills go up because under the previous system they were paying well below the actual cost of providing service, which has been estimated at $40 per customer per month. Low-volume customers will still pay less than high-volume users, but that gap will be shrinking over the next few years.

Show All Answers

1. Do I have to pay the Environmental Surcharge if I only have a stormwater account?
2. What is the base rate?
3. What about wastewater treatment above 2 hundred cubic feet (HCF)?
4. If such a small percentage of SD1’s costs are fixed, why are you still charging a variable surcharge?
5. What is the environmental surcharge, and why do I have to pay it?
6. How is the environmental surcharge different from the stormwater fee?
7. Previous rate increases were said to be the result of the Consent Decree, and now there is an environmental surcharge that covers the same thing. Why?
8. Why are low-volume customers seeing a rate increase while high-volume customers are seeing their bills decrease?
9. Why are you punishing water conservation by raising the rates of low-volume customers?
10. When did this change take effect?
11. What about low-income and fixed-income customers who might be negatively impacted by this change?
12. Does this change affect non-residential customers?
13. Did SD1 solicit public feedback before implementing this rate realignment?