Amador Water Agency approves five‑year water and wastewater rate increases after public hearing

The Amador Water Agency Board of Directors voted unanimously to adopt two resolutions that increase water and wastewater rates for fiscal years 2027–2031 after presentations from agency staff and rate consultants and more than an hour of public comment.

Board President (name not provided) opened public hearings under Proposition 218 and heard presentations from General Manager Larry McKinney and consultants from Water Resources Economics about a five‑year financial plan the agency says is needed to address aging infrastructure and secure debt financing. "The Amador Water Agency ... provides water service wholesale and retail, treated and untreated to just a little under 25,000 people," McKinney said while framing the service area and the legal duty to recover costs through rates.

The rate study, the consultants said, models operating costs, capital‑improvement needs, reserve targets and debt coverage ratios. The agency’s most urgent list includes six debt‑funded water projects — a failing tank ("Tank D"), a clear‑well replacement at the Tanner Treatment Plant, operational upgrades to…