This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

How Much Is Your Water Bill?

Alameda County Water District increased its rates by 8 percent this year, but some residents think their bills have gone up much more than that.

The Alameda County Water District, which serves Newark, Fremont and Union City, has increased its rates by 8 percent and some residents are feeling the pinch.

The increase became effective on March 1, and before its implementation ACWD General Manager Walter Wadlow said "the average user [would] see about a $6 increase bimonthly, or about $3 per month.”

For example, a residence that used 283 gallons per day would see its bill increase by approximately 10 cents per day, from $74.96 to $80.95.

Find out what's happening in Newarkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

But residents said their bills are increasing by much more.

Newark resident Gary Stadler said his bill has gone from $46 every month to $86, with no notification from Alameda County Water District.

Find out what's happening in Newarkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

He added that many of his neighbors were attributing the increases to leaks. Other Newark residents reported they thought the fee hike was due to their own increased use of water.

“A while ago, my neighbor was up in the middle of the night, trying to fix his shower. He had seen his water bill that day and thought he had a water leak,” Stadler said. “A lot of my neighbors thought they had leaks, too.”

“We’re not getting any answers [from ACWD] or an explanation of why it’s like it is,” Stadler added.

The reasons behind the increase are based on a variety of reasons, but a shortage of water is apparently not among them. Water district officials have cited low demand in the Tri-Cities and the need to contribute to its employee pension fund. Also, in 2008 the district agreed to a five-year contract that guarantees workers an annual increase of 4 percent through 2013.

Any customers with concerns are encouraged to contact the district, Wadlow said Thursday morning. By calling 510-668-4200, customers can learn whether their water use is up, whether they have a leak and how they can conserve water and reduce their bills, Wadlow said.

“[The customer’s] actual concern may be that their bills have gone up, not the rates (price per gallon), which are constant once set by ACWD. Their bills may have increased for a number of reasons, including choices that they make about how much water to use, changes in the number of people in the household, the amount of outdoor watering, etc.,” Wadlow said.

He added that another factor  — for a limited number of customers —may be that the water district has been replacing older meters that under-calculate water use with more accurate ones.

The reasons behind the increase are based on a variety of reasons, but a shortage of water is apparently not among them. Water district officials have cited low demand in the Tri-Cities and the need to contribute to its employee pension fund. Also, in 2008 the district agreed to a five-year contract that guarantees workers an annual increase of 4 percent through 2013.

Alameda County Water District has increased its bimonthly rates each year since 1999, including an 8.8 percent increase in 2009.

The projected impact of the 2010 rate increase — about $3 a month —is based on an average ACWD household use of about 283 gallons per day. This is an average over the entire year for the entire residential household demographic base of the water district, Wadlow said.    

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Newark