Water Replenishment District Adopts Budget for 2012-2013 Fiscal Year with NO Rate Increase

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Water Replenishment District of Southern California

May 04, 2012, 03:51 ET

LAKEWOOD, Calif., May 4, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD), which provides groundwater for more than 10% of the state's population, has decided NOT to increase its groundwater pumping rates for the next fiscal year. Avoiding a water rate increase is a sharp contrast to the 5% to 28% increases in other water rates in the Los Angeles region.

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"WRD is very proud of the transparent open process we followed to approve our budget, and that hard work will enable us to maintain the water rates at the current levels for another year," said WRD Board President Albert Robles. "The 10 public workshops and public engagement with our stakeholders has proven that transparency is the best strategy for keeping water rates low for customers."

The price of groundwater pumping, including the cost of operating and maintaining the wells, is less than one third the price of imported water. This means that the cost of groundwater continues to be the best bargain in drinking water.

Attendees of the public hearing included public officials from numerous cities, public works departments and water pumper agencies. Public speakers applauded WRD's budgeting and outreach efforts and the Board's decision to hold off on a rate increase.

Based on 325,851.385 gallons per acre-foot, current water rates for some local water providers show that one penny would purchase the following amounts of water:

Water Replenishment District: 13.4 gallons

Central Basin Municipal Water District: 3.6 gallons

Metropolitan Water District: 5.01 gallons

In the coming year, WRD will be using over nearly 70,000 acre-feet of locally available water instead of imported water. Shifting toward the use of local water lessens the effect of any rate increases WRD may face when purchasing imported water from the Central Basin Municipal Water District.

Despite the rate increase of 5% on imported water, WRD's decision to keep rates the same is accomplished through reductions on expensive imported water for groundwater basin management.

WRD General Manager Robb Whitaker said "The use of recycled water and the capture and spreading of local rainfall runoff, even in low amounts, has proved to be very cost effective in reducing the need to buy increasingly scarce and expensive imported water."

The Water Replenishment District of Southern California is the regional groundwater management agency that protects and preserves the quantity and quality of groundwater for two of the most utilized urban basins in the State of California. The service area is home to over ten percent of California's population residing in 43 cities in southern Los Angeles County. WRD is governed by a publicly elected Board of Directors which includes Willard H. Murray, Jr., Robert Katherman, Lillian Kawasaki, Sergio Calderon, and Albert Robles.

For more information, please visit WRD at www.wrd.org

SOURCE Water Replenishment District of Southern California