Are we paying enough for water?
| Wednesday, Nov 18 2009 03:56 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Nov 18 2009 03:56 PM
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HOW WE MEASURE UP
We tried to calculate what the monthly water bill would be for the average Bakersfield family of four living in an average-sized home on a 6,000-square-foot lot if they lived in various local and Southern California water districts.
It assumes the family consumes 4,700 cubic feet a month -- a rough Bakersfield average -- that the month is June and the customer is on a one-inch water line.
A cubic foot is equivalent to roughly 7.48 gallons of water.
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Los Angeles -- $198
Irvine Ranch Water District, Orange County -- $95.82
Cal Water Service Company (tiered), Bakersfield -- $107.83
Cal Water Service Company (flat-rate) -- $58.11
Vaughn Water Company, Bakersfield -- $39.01
City of Bakersfield, Bakersfield -- $55.91
These numbers are hypothetical and based on rate structure documents published on the Web site of all five districts.
WATER USAGE - BY THE NUMBERS
98 gallons
The average amount of water used nationwide per person, per day at home
123 gallons
California's per capita usage
111 gallons
Los Angeles County's per capita usage
48.5 gallons
San Francisco County's per capita usage
173 gallons
Kern County's per capita usage
Source: U.S. Geological Survey report using 2005 figures
Water has been cheap in Bakersfield for decades thanks to two things: a massive underground aquifer and the Kern River that has fed it for thousands of years.
Conserving water has never been a major priority. In some areas of Bakersfield, users consume nearly four times the state average rate of consumption daily.
Cash may be what it takes to wake up a community that often takes its water for granted.
"It's the one mechanism where we think we're getting people's attention," said Tim Treloar, the local director for California Water Service Company. "There are other ways and we've been trying those for years. But when it comes to the pocketbook, it becomes real for folks."
ANOTHER WORLD
Bakersfield's mish-mash of independent water districts price water on a wide array of plans, most of which offer little to no financial incentive to conserve.
Tens of thousands of Bakersfield water users don't even have meters. They pay a flat fee no matter how much water they use. Those that are on meters often face forgiving pricing tiers or a flat fee for each unit of water -- which doesn't escalate when water is wasted.
Communities just hours south have a starkly different approach.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power charges water wasters a rate three times as high as the top tier price of water on a California Water Service meter in Bakersfield.
Los Angeles has made it legal to water lawns only on Monday and Thursday. It's illegal to clean off driveways and sidewalks with water, to allow water to run off onto sidewalks or streets or to wash vehicles with a hose without a shut-off nozzle.
Enforcement teams ticket offenders.
Irvine Ranch Water District in Orange County has used pricing to drive its water conservation efforts.
Historical data provided by Beth Beeman, director of public affairs for Irvine Ranch, shows that the pricing structure has paid off for the water district.
The structure was created in 1991 and by 1995, the district's per capita water use dropped from around 115 gallons a day to 90 gallons a day. It remains at that level today despite the area's rapid growth.
Irvine Ranch gives each residential lot a water budget based on the size of the lot and the time of year.
Customers who stay under that allowance pay around $1.15 for each 100 cubic feet of water they use.
One hundred cubic feet of water costs $1.45 on the lowest tier of California Water Company's Bakersfield system.
At the top of the three-tier system, Bakersfield users pay $1.83 for a single 100 cubic foot share of water -- 25 percent more than the price on the bottom tier.
Irvine Ranch Water users who spend more water then they are allocated can see their water rate double three times before they hit the top of the rate structure at 201 percent of their allocation. Water at that "wasteful" tier costs to $9.30 per 100 cubic feet.
LOCAL REALITY
Most Bakersfield residents consume between 200 and 400 gallons a day -- or 1,200 cubic feet a month.
They pay differently for that water than other residents of the state.
The average residential water bill in the California Water Service district in Bakersfield comes in at around $65 a month.
According to Beeman's data, the water bill for a typical home in the Irvine Ranch district -- one that consumes 1,500 cubic feet of water a month -- is $23.56.
But that price can rocket into the stratosphere if the Irvine home exceeds its water allotment.
In the Vaughn Water District in Rosedale, a hypothetical family of four, using the daily average for the district on a one-inch connection, consumes around 6,000 cubic feet of water a month and pays just more than $38 for it.
Jim Beck of the Kern County Water agency said the river and the aquifer -- and prudent planning decisions by previous generations -- have made cheap water possible in Bakersfield.
"One of the things we have to acknowledge is having a very abundant source of water," Beck said. "It's made our water among the most affordable water in the state."
That reality is changing as Bakersfield grows and droughts dry up the river and stress the aquifer.
"It's time for us to make decisions that will position us well for the future," Beck said. "Water may be the limiter for growth if we don't find ways to extend our existing supplies."
Ultimately conservation will benefit residents, water officials agree.
"It's not good pumping water so you can run it down the street," said Michael Huhn of Vaughn Water.
Conserving supplies saves power to pump the water from the ground, treat it and deliver it to residents, he said.
Saved water would either be left underground to improve the aquifer, Beck said, or stored in a water bank or reservoir for future use.
"Conservation's just a good idea," he said.
Treloar said his users are seeing the impact on their bills and it is making a difference.
"It maybe goes without saying, (but) the more expensive water gets the more awareness you get," he said, "We're reaching more and more people as it's getting more and more expensive. It's not unusual to see a water bill be $65, $75 where it used to be $20 or $30. And it can be higher if you are on a meter and you're not judicious."
But Beck urged caution in developing plans that use cost to push conservation.
FAIR PLAY?
Beck said applying tough price controls across the populace can create and unequal financial impact.
"The adoption is always a very tricky decision and sometimes, when you do that, people who are less able to afford it bear an increased burden," he said.
The poor and people on a fixed income can struggle to pay utility increases while the rich can afford a big lot home and all the water they want to waste on it.
Treloar said the people who become most engaged in California Water's rate system during periodic increases are often older families on fixed incomes.
His company offers a small price break for people who meet certain financial criteria.
And tough prices aren't the only way to increase conservation, Treloar said.
But conservation is an important goal for Bakersfield residents.
"If it's one less gallon we have to pump out of the ground, or treat out of the (Kern) River or the State Water Project, we're all better off. The community is better off," Treloar said.
