New water rates likely in July
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Last updated 2/20/1996 at Noon
A new water rate structure for Sisters city water users is likely to be imposed beginning July 1.
Rate recommendations that could mean increases for some users and reductions for others were presented February 15 in a special meeting of the Sisters City Council. Richard Nored of H.G.E. Inc. of Coos Bay, presented a report on a water rate study conducted by his firm.
This rate applies to users with meter inlet sizes of 5/8 inch and 3/4 inch -- which covers most residential and commercial users in Sisters.
Current rates for users in this category is $16.50 for up to 10,000 and a charge of $1.65 per 1,000 gallons overage.
There is an additional fee of $6 per month for each dwelling unit and commercial user to pay back a loan from the Farm Home Administration. That loan was used for improvements in the water system and for water meters.
The larger the meter size the greater the base rate. Nored recommended, however, that the rate of $1.10 or so per 1,000 gallons overage charged small meters remain the same for larger meters.
Base rates for larger meters, if the recommendations are adopted by the council, range from $20.25 for 1 inch meters to $111 for 6 inch meters. The present base rate range is from $18.50 to $50 a month.
Nored noted that while the base rate for large users is higher, these are higher volume users and the lower rate for overage will often more than compensate for the larger base.
Nored's report tested a charge of $1.04 per 1,000 gallons for overages. At that level, in an average year, there would be a reserve fund for extraordinary expenses in the water system of approximately $26,000. Nored said this could be inadequate in a particularly damp year when lawn and field watering were down substantially.
He recommended the council set the overage rate at $1.10 or $1.15.
Rates 1.5 times all base rates paid by city residents would be charged to city water users outside the city limits. The rate of $24.75 for the smallest meters would remain the same, but as the meter size increases, the base rate for larger meters also increases.
Nored indicated that the rates reflect the level needed to budget the system. The overage charges include enough funds to provide for extraordinary expenses such as the acquisition of additional or replacement pumps.
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