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Committee debates tiered water rates and expands outreach; student poster contest gets town support
Summary
Committee members and staff discussed conservation outreach and a draft tiered-rate model to fund future water resources, endorsed a student poster contest for water conservation, and agreed to pursue audits and targeted outreach to large users such as schools and businesses.
The Water Advisory Committee spent substantial time on conservation strategy, potential rate design and outreach. Diane Vasley of the Desert Awareness Committee described a K–12 poster contest to promote water conservation, said entries are due April 17 and that winners’ posters would become town property for outreach use, and asked the town to post contest materials on its website and billing mailings. "I live in Cave Creek on the River Road. I'm with Desert Awareness Committee," Diane Vasley said during public comment.
Committee member Robert presented an initial tiered-rate concept intended to dedicate revenue toward future water resources. He described a cost-based base rate for usage up to 10,000 gallons per month, stepped tiers above that and a steep jump above 70,000 gallons. Robert said the higher-tier model "would generate another $77,000 a year" in the scenario he showed; later in the meeting another participant questioned whether that figure referred to monthly or annual revenue, so the committee flagged the number for verification with staff and the rate-study consultant.
Staff emphasized the role of AMI meters and submetering to identify large users and suggested targeted audits for schools and commercial customers. The agency official said the town already has AMI on more than 60% of accounts and proposed installing a submeter at a local school reservoir to separate domestic and irrigation flows for more accurate conservation targeting. The committee agreed to pursue audits, seek consultant support for outreach, and consider dedicating any confirmed higher-tier revenue to a water-resources reserve.
The committee also reached consensus to help publicize the poster contest using the town newsletter, website and targeted social media, and asked staff to confirm copyright/ownership and to circulate the contest digital file.
