Sanitary District Could Raise Rates

The Ross Valley Sanitary District is considering the possibility of raising rates from $520 to $904. (Larkspur residents, who pay a different rate due to the annexation agreement, could see their rates raise fro $592 to $1,130.)

The district heard a presentation by General Manager Brett Richards at a April 7 workshop that outlined the long-term plan for the district.

"It's a wonderful plan, it would be great to do all of it. But, it comes up against the reality of the real world," said RVSD Board President Marcia Johnson, who said the next step is for the board to find a balance between long-term costs and what ratepayers can reasonably pay for.

The main reason for the district's rise in rates is a need to replace approximately 170 miles of aging sewer pipe within the next 10 years. Currently, the district replaces about two miles of pipe per year. Johnson said that though the district has been replacing pipe at a much higher rate in the last five years, from 1960 to 2005, very little of the pipe was replaced.

One step the district has taken towards replacing that aging pipe faster is to adopt a pipe-bursting program that it piloted last year. would allow a new crew of district employees to replace pipe faster and at less cost per mile.

The other issue for the district's raising costs, said Johnson, is the rates it has to pay to the Central Marin Sanitation Agency (CMSA).

CMSA is a wastewater treatment joint powers agency that serves the Ross Valley Sanitary District, and the sanitary districts of Corte Madera and San Rafael. Each district pays a portion of its rates to CMSA. CMSA raised its rates last year, said Johnson, in part because of a large wet-weather expansion project.

According to Johnson, the rate RVSD pays to CMSA more than doubled in the last five years. However, she said, CMSA doesn't have to go through a ratepayer notification process. The higher costs are simply passed through to its member agencies, including RVSD.

"It's a very weird situation," said Johnson.

RVSD has to go through a process required by Proposition 218, which means that that after the board considers the rate increase at its April 20 and May meetings, the district must notify all ratepayers by letter 45 days before a vote is held. Ratepayers then have an option of coming to public hearings or protesting the rate increase.

The last time RVSD had a rate increase was in 2008, when rates went from $270 to $520.