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Inland Empire Utilities Agency board to consider two-year 9% sewer rate hikes; Chino Hills residents alerted
Summary
Representatives from the Inland Empire Utilities Agency briefed the Chino Hills City Council on a staff proposal that would raise wholesale sewer treatment rates 9% in each of the next two years. IEUA officials said the increases would fund capital and operating costs and that the board will consider the proposal next week.
Steve Eli, an elected director at the Inland Empire Utilities Agency, told the Chino Hills City Council on April 8 that the agency will consider a two-year package of rate increases intended to support capital projects and rising operating costs.
"The proposal from our staff that our board will consider next week is for an increase of 9%, which translates to a little bit less than $2.40 per household per month," Eli said. He added that staff recommended a second 9% increase the following year, about $2.43 more per month.
IEUA, which Eli described as the regional wholesale water distributor and wastewater treatment agency serving roughly 935,000 people, is weighing the increases against a multi-hundred-million-dollar capital program. Eli said the agency currently has a roughly $400 million project at Regional Plant 5 in Chino and that inflation, chemicals and personnel costs are driving the need for new revenue.
General Manager Shavaji Deshmukh described the agency's priorities behind the recommendation: "Public health protection is at the top of that list," he said, adding that affordability and environmental protection also factored into staff's risk-based analysis. Deshmukh said staff spent about six months evaluating options before proposing the two-year 9% steps.
Eli and Deshmukh told council members the increases are intended to preserve system reliability and avoid larger costs from unplanned breaks or spills. Eli pointed to federal borrowing and grant programs IEUA uses to lower rate impacts, including a WIFIA loan that he said carries a low interest rate and deferred repayment during construction.
Council members asked about scale and impact. Councilmember Marquez asked what the increases would generate; Deshmukh said that the proposed adjustments would support roughly $50 million in capital improvement spending and help cover approximately $200 million in operations costs in the next year. He also said IEUA produces just over 50,000 acre-feet of recycled water annually and emphasized efforts to keep that water in the region to bolster supply reliability.
IEUA officials encouraged residents with questions to contact the agency website (IEUA.org) and noted the governing board will discuss the proposed rate change at an upcoming meeting. Eli and Deshmukh characterized the proposed increases as a measured step, saying IEUA aims to balance affordability with necessary infrastructure investment.
For now the item is informational before the IEUA board vote; no Chino Hills council action was recorded at this meeting.
