Three-Year Rate Increase
At SacSewer, our charge is clear—protecting public health and the environment for the many communities we serve. We deliver on this mission in a number of different ways, including collecting and treating billions of gallons of sewage every year. To do that, we must ensure our pipes, pump stations, and resource recovery facility are in top operating condition. This allows us to continue providing the uninterrupted, reliable service our customers have come to expect.
Being responsible stewards of our ratepayers’ money is a job we take very seriously. It is important to both our Board of Directors and staff that we do everything we can to keep rates affordable for our customers. Each year, we update our Long-Term Financial Plan that features a ten-year financial forecast, an analysis of economic trends impacting SacSewer, the ten-year Capital Funding Projection, and debt management status. We review sewer rates on an annual basis and strive to minimize rate increases for customers where possible.
While we have not had a rate increase in many years, like many other public agencies, we are experiencing mounting financial pressures and increased costs across the board due to the historically high inflation environment that has characterized the U.S. economy. To cover the increased operating and capital project costs, SacSewer determined a sewer rate increase is needed over the next three years, starting in July 2024.
What to Expect
As a result of SacSewer’s commitment to being good financial stewards of our ratepayers’ dollars, SacSewer has not had a rate adjustment in 14 years for sewage collection services and six years for sewage treatment and resource recovery services. Since 2018, the producer price index for the utilities industry has increased by over 42 percent, with an annual average inflation rate of 7.3 percent. Since July 2020, SacSewer’s collection system operating costs have risen by 25 percent, and the treatment and resource recovery operating costs are up by 34 percent. This has significantly impacted SacSewer’s financial outlook.
The three-year plan results in the lowest total increase to our rates. All revenues collected through sewer rates will be used to cover increased costs needed to provide ongoing reliable and cost-effective sewer service to the communities we serve.
The adjustment in sewer rates will allow SacSewer to cover costs associated with the following:
Critical repairs and maintenance for SacSewer’s aging infrastructure and facilities*
Increased costs for materials required for sewage treatment, some of which have increased 300% in recent years
Inflationary adjustments for operations, labor, energy, and construction expenditures
*For SacSewer sewage collection customers only
Notices
Did You Know We Offer Financial Assistance?
We are pleased to offer the Sewer Lifeline Rate Assistance Program which provides income-eligible customers an opportunity to save money on their sewer bill.
