By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – A company called Cascadia Water has purchased five small water systems in Clallam County and is now planning to more than double what some county residents are currently paying on their water bills.
Those customers, one of whom is Clallam County, are asking Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) to take a close look at Cascadia’s proposed rate increases before approving them.
The water systems they own on the Olympic Peninsula service the Monterra development, Discovery Bay Village, Aquarius Utilities at Diamond Point, Pedersen Family Water in Carlsborg, and the Dungeness Recreation Area, which is a Clallam County property.
Clallam County Commissioners are among those asking for a review of the proposed rate hikes. They and many of the other water customers say it appears that Cascadia wants to use some of the money they collect in Clallam County to upgrade water systems in other counties. We spoke with Commissioner Mark Ozias.
“I’m not an expert on how utility rates are supposed to work, but my basic understanding is that there are certain shared costs across multiple systems, and then there are other costs that are more system-specific. My understanding is that it’s not necessarily appropriate to be charging system users in one area for repairs that are necessary for systems in another area. And we really wanted to try and encourage the UTC as the regulatory body, we just want to make sure that they’ve got visibility on all the the potential implications.”
In a letter sent to the UTC, Commissioners point out that doubling residential base rates is huge a increase for a county like ours where the median income is 30% less than the state average.
And because Cascadia Water is proposing to consolidate multiple systems in Clallam County, Commissioners want to make sure that the plan includes an operations and maintenance program that covers contaminant monitoring, an emergency response program, and other requirements.
The company is requesting the new rates be made effective June 1.
Cascadia is hosting a Virtual Customer Outreach Meeting this Wednesday, May 15 at 6pm.
Zoom link: https://utc-wa-gov.zoom.us/j/89871697529?pwd=3dJQVvRO2P6dxabYutN9T18bwZ4GW8.1