During a severe drought, a 28% discount for Richmond residential customers using over 74,800 gallons per month is proposed! Richmond’s minimum water/sewer fees to remain the highest of any city in the United States!

A new water/sewer rate structure advocated in a report submitted by Richmond’s Mayor Douglas Wilder would not correct Richmond’s inequitable residential minimum water/sewer rates, which remain the highest of any city in the nation. In fact, the report recommends that the minimum water bill be raised by an additional 19 cents per month while the minimum sewer bill would be reduced by only $1.03. The Mayor’s proposed minimum water/sewer service charge of $42.72 would be three times the minimum water/sewer bill of $14.05 charged by Henrico County, which purchases some of its water from Richmond.

The new water rates do not go far enough in encouraging conservation of this precious resource. Proposed during the serious Fall/2007 drought, the Mayor’s recommendation would offer a 28% high volume discount to those residential customers who use or waste MORE than 100 hundred cubic feet of water a month. By contrast, Henrico County offers a 38% discount for water and sewer customers who use LESS than 6 CCF per month.

Under the Mayor’s proposal, those using the least water will continue to subsidize customers using the most water. The city would protect high volume users from “rate shock” while ensuring that social-security grandmas, and those who use little water, will continue to be shocked by their high water and sewer bills each month.

The preposterous assumption is made in the city’s utility study that the entire fixed costs of providing water and sewer service must be recovered by the minimum water/sewer service charges to satisfy the preference of bond rating agencies! Imagine the uproar if the electric utility proposed recovering its entire fixed costs through its base minimum service charge — before providing the first kilowatt of electricity.

We urge the city to adopt a water/sewer rate structure modeled after Henrico County’s equitable fees that promote conservation. End the city policy of offering steep discounts for customers who use over 100 CCF (74,800 gallons) of water per month. Follow the lead of Henrico County and offer a 38% discount in water/sewer fees for those customers who use less than 6 CCF (4,488 gallons) per month. Cut Richmond’s minimum water/sewer service fees by two-thirds to match Henrico’s minimum monthly fees of only $4.65 for water and $9.40 for sewer service. Charge minimum water/sewer service service fees that reflect the actual cost of providing the service rather than attempting to recover the City’s entire fixed costs from the minimum water/service fees.

Let’s use the drought of 2007 as an incentive for Richmond to eliminate the high volume discounts for water/sewer service that do not promote conservation, and to correct the exorbitant and unfair base minimum water and sewer service fees that are the highest in the country. Let’s put a stop to forcing the customers using the least water to subsidize those who are using the most. Let’s follow Henrico’s lead by adopting an equitable rate structure that encourages conservation of this precious resource.

Henrico County:
Bi-monthly minimum service charge: water — $9.30; wastewater — $18.80 (Total Monthly: $14.05)
[billed once every two months, comparable to monthly service charge: $4.65 water; $9.40 wastewater]
Basic water and wastewater rates are:
$2.14/CCF; wastewater rate is $2.27/ CCF
If you use 6 CCF or less you receive a discount rate of 38%: water rate is $1.33/CCF; wastewater rate is 1.39/CCF

Current Richmond City:
Monthly minimum service charge: water — $17.71; wastewater — $25.85 (Total: $43.56)
Basic water and wastewater rates are:
Volume 0-100 CCF, water — 1.144/CCF; wastewater — 1.684/CCF
Volume 101-2000 CCF, water — 585/CCF; wastewater — 1.684/CCF
Volume over 2000 CCF, water — .467/CCF; wastewater — 1.684/CCF

Proposed Richmond City:
Monthly minimum service charge: water — $17.90; wastewater — $24.82 (Total: $42.72)
Volume 0-100 CCF, water — $1.522; wastewater — $2.455
Volume 101-2000 CCF, water –$1.090; wastewater — $2.455
Volume over 2000 CCF, water — $0.997; wastewater — $2.455

Richmond Green Party is a local chapter of the Green Party of the United States (gp.org).

Contact:
Richmond Green Party Acting Chair:
Scott Burger, 804 714 5444, scottburger@mac.com