Orange County approves preliminary water and wastewater rate schedules for public hearing

Orange County utilities staff and consultant Andy Burnham (Stantec) told the Board on Dec. 2 that a combination of post‑pandemic inflation, supply chain pressures and rising construction costs has made the county's existing five‑year rate plan insufficient to fund operations and capital needs.

Utilities manager Glenn Kramer described multi‑year increases in electricity, maintenance, chemicals and biosolids disposal costs and said capital construction costs for pipe and pump stations have increased sharply since 2020. He and consultant Burnham said the proposed adjustments — which blend fixed and volumetric changes across residential and commercial classes — aim to reduce future borrowing needs and restore more sustainable debt coverage. Staff said the plan would raise system revenues roughly 7.7% per year on average; for the average residential customer the estimated increase is a little over 5% annually, translating to an estimated $4–$5 monthly increase for a typical home by 2031.

Staff also described operational and revenue steps already taken this year, including updated reclaimed water rates, revised meter installation charges, higher capital charges for development and the issuance of $150 million in bonds. Staff requested approval of preliminary water and wastewater charge schedules and said a statutorily required public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 27, 2026; if the board adopts final rates after that hearing, staff said new rates would be effective Oct. 1, 2026. The board approved the preliminary resolutions unanimously, with staff to conduct outreach and provide bill calculators and customer assistance information ahead of the hearing.

Commissioners pressed staff on conservation outreach, equity of impacts for high‑use customers, modeling assumptions and whether the recommended plan is sufficient to avoid a future debt cycle; staff said the plan includes inflation assumptions and stress tests and that adjustments remain possible if conditions change materially.