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?

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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

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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

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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

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Niagara-Platteville-Trenten Aquifer

2 Water Towers

• and 550,000 Gallons -

Create Water Pressure for Speedy Home Delivery

(You are Here)

82+ Miles of Water Main

Direct Traffic Flow on the Down-Low 885,000+ gallons delivered daily

801 Fire Hydrants

Help Keep it Cool

3,657 Homes & 691 Businesses

• n 4,588 meters

Clean Water In, Wastewater Out

5 Well Houses

Pump and Treat Groundwater

17 Lift Stations

Keep Things Moving

65+ Miles of Sewer Main

Help Keep it Beautiful

Clean Water Returned to Nature

Free to Roam the Willow River and St. Croix-Mississippi Watershed

350 – 800ft below ground

The NRU Water Cycle

By the Numbers

Bob’s House

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Down the Drain: From Peninsula Heights to WWTP

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

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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?

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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

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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)

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Fixed Charge Volume Charge PFP Charge Fixed Charge Volume Charge Cost per 1,000 gallons Example monthly usage Example monthly usage Cost per 1,000 gallons

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 4th Quarter 2019
• Water rates proposed to take effect in 1st Quarter 2020

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How Does NRU Compare with Regional Utilities?

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How Does NRU Water Compare to Peer Utilities?

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*Does not include Municipal PFP Charges, which are recovered via property taxes. Based on 3,000 gallons per month usage

How Does NRU Sewer Compare to Peer Utilities?

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Based on 3,000 gallons per month usage

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

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Next Steps

• Utility Commission Meeting
• July 10, 2019 at 8:00 AM
• New Richmond City Council Meeting
• August 12, 2019 at 7:00 PM

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