New Richmond Utilities Water & Sewer Rate Presentation June 5, - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

New Richmond Utilities Water & Sewer Rate Presentation June 5, 2019 @ 6:00 PM June 19, 2019 @ 6:00 PM

Tonight’s Agenda  Brief History of NRU  Utility Management  Why are New Rates being Considered?  How will the Proposed Rates Affect My Monthly Utility Bill?  How are Water and Sewer Bills Calculated?  How Do NRU Water and Sewer Bills Compare to Other Utilities?  Where Can I Learn More? 2 6/5/2019 NRU Water & Sewer Rate Presentation

History of New Richmond Utilities  Founded in 1890  First water well drilled and mains installed early 1900s  WWTP added in the 1930s  First water tower constructed in 1964  WWTP relocated in 1983  System grew as New Richmond expanded  Example water main materials 3 6/5/2019 NRU Water & Sewer Rate Presentation

NRU Water System Today  Water utility includes over 82 miles of main, five water wells, and maintenance facilities  On an average day in 2018: • Over 885,000 gallons of water was delivered to NR residents and businesses 4 6/5/2019 NRU Water & Sewer Rate Presentation

NRU Sewer System Today  Sewer utility includes WWTP, 17 lift stations, and over 65 miles of main  On an average day in 2018: • Over 650,000 gallons of wastewater was processed and treated 5 6/5/2019 NRU Water & Sewer Rate Presentation

The NRU Water Cycle 2 Water Towers By the Numbers - and 550,000 Gallons - Create Water Pressure for Speedy Home Delivery 3,657 Homes & 691 Businesses on 4,588 meters Clean Water In, Wastewater Out 5 Well Houses Pump and Treat Groundwater 801 Fire Hydrants Help Keep it Cool (You are Here) Bob ’ s House 17 Lift Stations Keep Things Moving 65+ Miles of Sewer Main 82+ Miles of Water Main Help Keep it Beautiful Direct Traffic Flow on the Down-Low 885,000+ gallons delivered daily 350 – 800ft below ground Niagara-Platteville-Trenten Aquifer Clean Water Returned to Nature Free to Roam the Willow River and St. Croix-Mississippi Watershed

Down the Drain: From Peninsula Heights to WWTP 7 6/5/2019 NRU Water & Sewer Rate Presentation

Utility Management  Two types of costs • Operational – providing services day-to-day • Capital – the long-lived, often very expensive stuff  NRU operations are fully funded by system users • Not supported by property taxes • Not supported by State revenues  Rates must be sufficient to cover operational & capital costs  If rates are not sufficient… • Capital reserves may be used to fund operations • Higher amounts of debt financing may be used  NRU currently has a relatively low amount of debt and healthy reserve levels 8 6/5/2019 NRU Water & Sewer Rate Presentation

Why are New Rates Being Considered?  The times, they are a changing • Growing population and increased demand – system capacity, future needs • Replacement of aging infrastructure • State and Federal environmental regulations • Normal market inflation  2019 Rate Study • Are user rates sufficient to recover costs of providing the service? • Are rates sufficient to build up reserves for capital replacements? • Do rate structures fairly distribute the cost of service among user classes? 9 6/5/2019 NRU Water & Sewer Rate Presentation

How are Water and Sewer Bills Calculated?  Water and Sewer bills have 3-4 components: • Fixed Charge (also called Service Charge) • System costs that occur regardless of the amount used/discharged • Volume Charge (also called Variable Charge) • Covers the cost of conveying clean water to your house and treating the wastewater that goes down your drain • Lawn/Irrigation Meter Charge 10 6/5/2019 NRU Water & Sewer Rate Presentation

How are Water and Sewer Bills Calculated? (cont.)  Public Fire Protection Charge • The PFP charge recovers the cost of water for fighting fires and the extra system capacity necessary to rapidly deliver a large volume of water to fight a fire anywhere within the municipality's water service area • NRU includes PFP charges on customer’s monthly/quarterly water bill (direct charge) • Some WI utilities charge all or part of PFP costs to the municipality (municipal charge) 11 6/5/2019 NRU Water & Sewer Rate Presentation

Example monthly usage Cost per 1,000 gallons Fixed Charge Volume Charge PFP Charge Fixed Charge Volume Charge Example monthly usage Cost per 1,000 gallons 12 6/5/2019 NRU Water & Sewer Rate Presentation

How Will the Proposed Rates Affect my Monthly Bill?  Household using 3,000 gallons per month (domestic water line): • $5.35/month water increase • $3.87/month sewer increase • Actual increase may be higher or lower depending on individual usage patterns, use of lawn/irrigation meter, etc.  Sewer rates proposed to take effect in 4 th Quarter 2019  Water rates proposed to take effect in 1 st Quarter 2020 13 6/5/19 NRU Water & Sewer Rate Presentation

How Does NRU Compare with Regional Utilities? 14 6/5/2019 NRU Water & Sewer Rate Presentation

How Does NRU Water Compare to Peer Utilities? *Does not include Municipal PFP Charges, which are recovered via property taxes. Based on 3,000 gallons per month usage 15 6/5/2019 NRU Water & Sewer Rate Presentation

How Does NRU Sewer Compare to Peer Utilities? Based on 3,000 gallons per month usage 16 6/5/2019 NRU Water & Sewer Rate Presentation

Where Can I Find Additional Information?  www.nrutilities.com • Informational material • Quarterly financial reports • Regional and Class C comparison charts • NRU 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan  PSC Quarterly Water Bill Comparison Tool • http://apps.psc.wi.gov/vs2017/waterbill/default.aspx  Wisconsin Residential Water Rates Dashboard • https://efc.sog.unc.edu/resource/wisconsin-residential-water-rates-dashboard 17 6/5/19 NRU Water & Sewer Rate Presentation

Next Steps  Utility Commission Meeting •July 10, 2019 at 8:00 AM  New Richmond City Council Meeting •August 12, 2019 at 7:00 PM NRU Water and Sewer Rate Presentation 18 6/5/2019