Item 6.2 - Consideration of Bill Credits for Water Fixed Charges and Explore Feasibility of Bill Credits for Water Commodity Charges1 of 1 December 17, 2019, Item #6.2
CITY OF POWAY
MEMORANDUM
TO: Members of the City Council
FROM: Steve Vaus, Mayor
DATE: December 17, 2019
SUBJECT: Consideration of Bill Credits for Water Fixed Charges and Explore the Feasibility
of Bill Credits for Water Commodity Charges
I am seeking Council concurrence to direct staff to calculate bill credits for water fixed charges
and explore the feasibility of calculating a credit for water commodity charges.
On Friday, Nov. 29, rainwater runoff entered the clear well and muddied the water. As a result,
the State issued a precautionary boil water advisory. Even though all State certified lab tests
showed there was no bacteria in the water and it met all health standards, residents were
encouraged to boil water and businesses had to close per the San Diego County Department of
Environmental Health. This has had an impact on our community. Our hearts go out to our
residents, businesses and their employees.
Our community came together like we always do to face this challenge. And to help mitigate the
impacts of this boil water advisory, the city stepped up and provided cases of water to residents
during the advisory. I feel we can do more. During the boil water advisory, our water customers
were inconvenienced. As such, I would like to propose a fixed charge bill credit for our water
customers equal to 1/8th of a bi-monthly bill to reflect that our water customers were impacted
during the week the boil water advisory was in effect. This fixed charge credit for water would vary
by a customer’s meter size. Based on the number of customers and meter sizes, the total credit
is estimated at approximately $90,000.
If my fellow Councilmembers agree, we would direct staff to:
1) Calculate a one-time water fixed charge bill credit equal to 1/8th of a customer’s normal
fixed charge and bring back the credit for City Council approval as soon as administratively
possible, and
2) Explore the feasibility of calculating a one-time water commodity charge credit during the
period in which the Precautionary Boil Water Advisory was in effect and present the
findings to the City Council for consideration as soon as administratively possible.