Marysville water users facing steep rate hike

A preliminary decision by a state Public Utilities Commission administrative law judge would allow for a 45.4 percent water rate hike in Marysville in 2011.

The judge's ruling, issued last week, was in response to a request by the Marysville branch of California Water Service to raise local rates.

Cal Water had requested a 66.5 percent increase over three years in Marysville – 22 percent in 2011, 24.7 percent in 2012 and 19.8 percent in 2013.

Instead, the ruling recommends a 50 percent increase overall, but a more dramatic spike during the first year.

The 45.4 percent increase for 2011 is an approximate calculation for residential customers with an average annual usage of 14 ccf per month.

This would mean the average Marysville resident will pay close to $15 more per month for water beginning in January.

"It's a tremendous bump for a single year," said Marysville Administrative Services Director Dixon Coulter.

The decision, if adopted by the PUC, would increase rates by an additional 2.1 percent in 2012 and 2.1 percent in 2013.

Cal Water officials announced their plans in early 2009 to install water meters for 2,500 flat-rate customers in Marysville over 10 years, as part of a conservation effort. The conversion is a primary reason for the proposed increase, said Lee Seidel, Marysville district manager for Cal Water.

"It's an expensive process," he said of the change, which has been mandated by the Legislature.

In addition, the company is moving its Ninth Street office to Second and D streets in the heart of downtown.

Water system upgrades – some of them necessary because of new state regulations – also are on the Cal Water to-do list, Seidel said.

"The planets just aligned to where we needed to make improvements in a broad spectrum of areas," he said.

The judge's decision is expected to appear on the PUC agenda in December.