Borrego Sun - Since 1949

Please join BWD for a virtual Town Hall meeting on April 30, 2021 at 5:30 PM on upcoming water and sewer rate changes.

By law, BWD is required to charge the minimum it can to deliver safe drinking water and sewer services to its customers, tell you about it ahead of time and give you the opportunity to respond. This process occurs every five years and the next update is this summer. Predicting future costs is difficult and BWD undertakes a comprehensive process to estimate every expense it will incur to determine the fees it must charge to deliver water and sewer as economically as possible. In the Town Hall meeting on April 30, 2021 BWD will present the cost analysis and the proposed new rate structure.

This requirement was created with the passing of Proposition 218 by the California Legislature in 2016. The most substantive new requirement from 218 requires justification for all fees which now must directly be related to the cost of providing the service. Accordingly, the BWD must:

- identify all of the parcels upon which the Fees will be imposed

- determine and identify the rate for the Fees to be imposed and describe method of calculation

- provide written notice to the record owner of each identified parcel

- specify the amount of the Fees proposed to be charged upon each parcel

- state the date, time, and location of the public hearing

- include any procedures for the public hearing, including how protests must be filed

- at least 45 days after mailing, the District must hold a public hearing and consider all protests

- If written protests (which will not include oral protest or communications made at the hearing) are filed by a majority of owners or customers of record of separate parcels, the District is prohibited from imposing the Fee;