HomeMy WebLinkAboutHandout - Rule/Regulation - Establishing the methodolgy to be utilized in determining the monthly wa***NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC***
The City Manager of the City of Boulder proposes to adopt an emergency regulation
JNTHLY W.S1'ER :LTSFiIf ~EI?,RGES
TANTITY CHARGE. .
,:THE COMRQNENT,OF TI~ ' _;:, ;t
:N~WN AS THE TREtCTED. W:ATER' ;. ~
Copies are available for public review at Central Records at the
Municipal Building, 1777 Broadway 2nd floor.
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Written comment should be directed to ' Ned:Williams
~ _ I~irectot, Utilities '' ~ ~ . Public'Woiks ' ' ~ ' "303 44] 3200 ` '
City of Boulder, P.O. Box 791, Boulder, CO 80306,
The City Manager will consider comments for 30 days on whether to make this rule permanent.
RULE ESTABLISHING THE METHODOLOGY TO BE UTILIZED IN DETERMINING THE
MONTHLY WATER BUDGET FOR THE COMPONENT OF THE MONTHLY WATER
USER CHARGES KNOWN AS THE TREATED WATER QUANTITY CHARGE.
1. Authori .
These rules are issued pursuant to Section 11-1-3, "Rules and Regulations," B.R.C. 1981 to
implement the provisions of Sections 11-1-44, "Water User Charges," and 4-20-25(b), "Monthly
Water Service Charges - Treated Water Quantity Charges," B.R.C. 1981.
2. Purpose and Anplicabilitv.
The monthly water user charges set forth in Section 4-20-25, B.R.C. 1981, identify two
components for the monthly chazges that aze billed to consumers. Section 4-20-25(a), B.R.C.
1981, sets forth the treated water monthly service chazge which is a fixed ainount based on the
meter size. Section 4-20-25(b) sets forth the treated water quantity chazges which vary
depending on use. Beginning in January 2007, the treated water quantity chazge portion of
water bills will be calculated using a water budget block rate structure such that the price of
water increases as more water is used, particularly when the amount of water used exceeds the
customer's water budget. The inereasing price is necessary not only to proinote water
conservation, but also is related to the additional marginal cost associated with water
development and water conservation.
The purpose of these rules is to establish a methodology that shall be utilized to determine the
monthly water budget for the treated water quantity chazge. This rule establishes a system
whereby the revenue produced will meet the treated water quantity charge portion of the revenue
requirements for the water utility. This rule does not include or apply to the treated water
monthly service charges set forth at Section 4-20-25(a), B.R.C. 1981.
It is also the purpose of these rules to establish a rate structure that will promote water
conservation and the efficient use of water, support community goals, reflect the value of water,
send a price signal to customers who waste water, and avoid the costs of new water development
and expanded water treatment.
3. De£nitions and Abbreviations.
"AMU" means average monthiy use.
"ET" means evapotranspiration (also, see ET Rate).
"ET rate" means the amount of water (in inches) a lawn will use on any specific day througl~ the
natural processes of surface evaporation and plant kanspiration (loss of water through the
leaves). The historic monthly ET rate is specifically defined in the following chart:
K~\WAAD\R-Final Wa[erBudget RuIe.LZB.doc
Historic Monthly ET Rate
Month
ET
(inches) Share of Annual
Outdoor
Allocation
January 0.00 0%
Februazy 0.00 0%
March 0.40 1%
April 2.72 7%
May 5.10 14%
June 7.52 20%
July 7.60 20%
August 6.67 18%
S tember 4.43 12%
October 2.92 7%
November 0.32 1%
December 0.00 0%
Total 37.68 100%
"GPSF" means gallons per squaze foot.
"Household size" means four persons.
"Kgal" means thousand gallons.
"Irrigable area" means the area (in squaze feet) that a customer is required to maintain pursuant
to Title 6 and Title 8, B.R.C. 1981, is not covered by a hazd surface (such as a roof, driveway,
patio or sidewalk) and that may require some outdoor watering. Right-of-way may be part of a
customer's irrigable area, but the present GIS system does not include city right-of-way.
Customers may seek inclusion of right-of-way pursuant to paragraph 6 below.
"Monthly water budget: means the amount of water allocated to the water utility cutomers to
meet their anticipated watering needs for the month. The monthly water budget shall be the
indoor and/or outdoor allocation for each water utility customer. The allocation shall be based
on reasonable and necessary indoor and/or outdoor use, water conservation, and other relevant
factors associated with water use in the city.
4. Block Rate Structure for Treated Water Ouantity Charges.
The block rate structure established in Section 4-20-25(b)(1), B.R.C. 1981, is utilized in
conjunction with the monthly water budget in order to determine the bill for each customer on a
monthly basis. The inonthly water budget represents the amount of water allocated to a customer
to meet the anticipated watering needs for the month. Customers are billed for the amount of
K\WAAD\R-Final Water Budget Aule.1,ZH doc
water they use each month, not for their budgeted amount of water. The amount billed per Kgal
increases as customers use more water. (See table below.)
Block Rate
(per Kgal) Rate
(p~ Kgal) Block Size
(% of water budget)
Block 1 Each Block Rate will '/ Base Rate 0- 60%
Block 2 be as reflected in Base Rate 61 -100%
Block 3 Section 4-20-25 2 x Base Rate 101 - 150%
Block 4 (b)(1), B.R.C. 1981 3 x Base Rate 151 - 200%
Block 5 ~ 5 x Base Rate Greater than 200%
5. Customer Classes.
This rule establishes fow different customer classes: single family residential, multifamily
residential, commercial and industrial, and irrigation. The method used to calculate the water
budget for each of these classes is described below. The bills for all customer classes utilize the
water budget amount which is then applied to the block rates to determine the final bill.
a. Single Family Residential
The single family residential customer budget shall consist of indoor and outdoor allocations
for water. The indoor allocation for each customer with a household size of up to four people
shall be set at 7,000 gallons per inonth. The outdoor allocation shall be based on customer-
specific irrigable area as determined by the city's geographical information system (GIS). This
system maps and calculates areas within defined property boundaries uid hard surface
boundaries. Total annual outdoor use shall be based on the following application rates:
• For the first 5,000 square feet of imgable area: 15 gpsf
• For the next 9,000 square feet of irrigable area: 12 gpsf
• For irrigable area in excess of 14,000 squaze feet: 10 gpsf.
In order to reflect varying seasona7 outdoor monthly watering requirements, the total annual
allocation of water for irrigable azea shall be distributed to each month based upon that month's
annual outdoor allocation as described by the historic monthly ET rate.
b. Multifamily Residential
The multifamily residential customer budget shall consist of indoor and outdoor
allocations. The indoor allocation for each residential dwelling unit shall be set at 4,000 gallons
per month. The outdoor allocation shall be based on customer-specific imgable area as
detennined by the city's GIS and a total armual application rate of 15 gps£ The budget will
K~\WAAD\R-Final WaterBudge[ RuIe.LZB.doc
change each month based on its share of annual outdoor allocation as depicted by the historic
monthly ET rate.
c. Commercial and Industrial
Commercial and industrial customer budgets shall be based on 100% of historica] AMU
for the 12-month period in 2005. This AMU amount will be fixed as the monthly budget until
another AMiJ period is defined.
d. Irrigation
Metered irrigation customer budgets shall be based on customer-specific irrigable area as
determined by the city's GIS, and an annual applicarion rate of 15 gpsf. The budget shall change
each month based upon that month's share of annual outdoor allocation described by the historic
ET rates, except that metered irrigation accounts will be given an additionai 1% of their annual
outdoor watering budget for each month in December, January and February. The purpose of
this additional 1% is to establish a monthly water budget that is greater than zero and allows for
some limited outdoor watering.
6. Water Budaet Adiustments
W ater budget adjustments may be granted by the city manager to insure that the needs of the
water utility customer are reasonably balanced against the purposes for this rule in paragraph 2
above. The city manager may consider the following:
• Number of people in household (more than four people) (single family accounts only)
• Irrigable azea square footage (landscaping azea)
^ Irrigable area oFpublic right-of-way the utility customer is required to care for and
maintain .
~ Number of dwelling units (multifamily accounts only)
^ Average monthly use (eomm~rcial and industrial accounts only)
• Licensed childcare facility
^ Other (medical needs, etc.).
Custoiners shall submit a Water Budget Adjustment Application in order to have their request
considered by the city manager. Infonnation contained on the Application may be subject to an
audit and, if necessary, additional documentation may be required in order to substantiate the
requested adjustment. This information is outlined on the Water Budget Adjustment
Application.
When reviewing the Water Budget Adjustment Application, the city manager may consider the
following information:
^ Completeness of required documentation submitted with the Application
^ Authenticity of supporting documents
K.\WAAD\R-Final Water Budget Rule LZB.doc 4
• Duration of household size or medical need
• Historic water usage information for property
• Correct errors or changed circumstances
• Other factors relevant to making a determination, provided that the needs of the water
utility customer are balanced against the purposes for fliis rule in paragraph 2 above.
Water budgets will not be adjusted to accommodate:
• Pools, spas, or hot tubs
^ Gardens (Gardens are included in the initial calculation of irrigable azea and will not be
the basis for additional water budget adjustments).
7. Water Budaet Calculation Example - Sinsle Family Residential.
The single faanily residenrial water budget is the sum of an indoor and outdoor allocation. The
indoor allocarion is 7,000 gallons per month.
The outdoor allocation is based on customer-specific irrigable area as provided by the city's
geographical information system. This aliocation changes monthly based on seasonal watering
needs. The annual outdoor allocation is calculated as follows:
^ The first 5,000 square feet of irrigable area is allocatedl5 gallons of water per square foot
(gpsfl
^ The next 9,000 square feet of irrigable area is allocated 12 gpsf
• All excess irrigable area gets 10 gpsf.
A customer with 14,400 square feet of inigable area would have the following annual outdoor
allocation:
Irrigable Area (square feet) Gallons per Square Foot Total
Gallons
5,~0~ 15 75,000
9,000 12 108,000
400 10 4,000
Annual Outdoor Allocation 187,000
The annual outdoor allocation is distributed throughout the year to meet changing montl~ly
seasonal outdoor watering needs. T7ie table below shows the percentages by month that will be
applied to the annual outdoor allocation. These percentages were derived from historic ET data
(as displayed in paragraph 3).
K.\WAADVL-Final Water Budget RuIe.LZB doc
Historic ET Rate
Month Share of Annual
Outdoor Allocation
January 0%
Februaty 0%
March 1 %
April 7%
May 14%
June 20%
July 20%
August 18%
September 12%
October 7%
November 1%
December 0%
Total 100%
A customer with an annua] outdoor allocation of 187,000 gallons, would receive 20% (37,400
gallons) in June. This number will be rounded up to the neazest 1,000 gallon; therefore, this
customer would receive 38,000 gallons in June.
In June, this customer's monthly water budget would be 45,000 gallons: the sum of their indoor
allocation (7,000 gallons) plus their outdoor allocation (38,000 gallons) 45,000 gallons.
If this customer used 70,000 gallons in June (budget is 45,000 gallons), their water usage would
be billed as follows:
Rate Block % of Budget Gallons per Rate Block Silled W ater
Usage (gallons)
Block 1 0-60% of budget 0- 27,000 27,000
Block 2 61-100% of budget 27,001 - 45,000 18,000
Block 3 101-150% of budget 45,001 - b8,000 23,000
Block 4 151-200% of budget 68,001 - 90,000 2,000
Block 5 over 201 % of budget Over 90,000 0
The customer's monthly bill uses the volume of water used in each Rate Block inultiplied by the
Block Rate ($) per each billing block to determine the treated water qua~itity charge component
of the monthly water bill.
K:\WAAD\R-Final Water Budget RuIe.LZB.doc