Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water And Wastewater topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City updates water master plan and outlines rate strategy; meter replacement and backup supply work underway
Summary
Lake Havasu City presented a new water master plan that will guide 10–20 year infrastructure planning, discussed a previous rate study and its role in securing revenues for water/wastewater maintenance, and said grant pursuit and meter replacement programs are under consideration.
City Manager Jess Knudson and utility staff described the city’s updated water master plan at the March 7 Coffee with the Mayor and City Manager session, saying the plan sets a 10–20 year view for water infrastructure and aligns with the city’s recent wastewater master plan.
Justin (staff) said the city updates its master plans roughly every five to seven years but looks out 10–20 years for infrastructure needs. The water master plan identifies where new development would tie into the system and clarifies cost responsibilities for developers and users.
Knudson and staff said the city updated a rate strategy after the expiration of an irrigation and drainage district property tax; the rate strategy provides revenue certainty that lets the city program capital work such as a water mainline replacement program. Knudson said rates had not been raised for more than 10 years before the most recent changes and that modest, steady increases are preferable to periodic large spikes.
Officials said the city has invested in a secondary water supply to reduce reliance on the Rainy Well and allow the Rainy Well to be taken out of service for repairs. Knudson said about 80% of the city’s water historically came from one source, and the secondary supply improves system resilience.
Knudson also said the city is exploring grants to help replace roughly 33,000 water meters and to fund other improvements, and that outside funds are preferred where possible to limit ratepayer impacts. Staff asked residents with pressure or service questions to contact public works; they explained pressure variation results from terrain/elevation, storage tank placement and local pressure‑reducing devices.
"A big picture, a vision, of what that looks like," Justin said of the master plan. Officials said council adopted the updated master plan at a recent meeting and will use it to guide capital programming and developer coordination.
