Originally published in the Marana News.
Cooler mornings and evenings are upon us! After a hot summer, the community can now enjoy the pleasant fall weather. Whether it’s enjoying a meal on the patio, signing up for one of our parks and recreation programs or hitting the trails, make sure to go outdoors and enjoy one of the best times of the year here in Marana.
No matter the season, town staff are hard at work delivering quality services to the community. Parks and recreation kicked off a new series of programming for the cooler weather, the general plan update is winding down for final approval, public works crews are hard at work maintaining our roads through the Pavement Preservation Program, and Marana Water finalized a study on water and wastewater rates.
On Oct. 15, town council approved new water and wastewater rates for Marana Water customers following a year-long rate study, its first since 2013. The study included a cost of service analysis ensuring that each customer class (i.e. residential, commercial, etc.) pays its proportionate share of the impact it places on the system, and resulted in a five-year plan beginning Jan. 1, 2020. By preparing a long term rate plan, Marana Water will able to plan for larger maintenance and infrastructure projects, as well as keeping our reserve healthy for any unforeseen projects. The approved water rate increases will be the first since January 2017, and the first water reclamation increase since April 2014.
The rate plan will fund system improvements and preventative maintenance programs for water and sewer infrastructure helping to keep future rate increases to a minimum. This includes tank and well rehabilitation programs, electrical upgrades, main and service line, valve, hydrant and manhole maintenance programs.
The water rate structure will allow customers more control over their water bill as well as promote conservation by reducing the monthly flat fees and shifting costs to the volume of water used. Other changes include a new fire service fee for those commercial customers with a direct, unmetered connection to the distribution system that is used solely for fire suppression. Non-residential sewer customers will be billed for actual water consumption and not the winter quarterly average. These changes help ensure equity among the different customer classes.
So what does this mean to the average residential water and wastewater customer? In 2020, an average customer using 7,000 gallons of water per month will see an increase in their water bill of only $1.56 per month and an increase in their sewer bill of only $1.00 per month, or a total of $2.56 per month.
To bring awareness to the community prior to the public hearing, Marana Water staff conducted extensive public outreach. Staff held open house meetings on Sept. 12 and Sept. 26 to educate the public on the proposed rate changes and to answer any specific questions that customers had. Staff also presented at the three Community Conversations public meetings and to the Marana Citizens’ Forum in addition to engaging with the community through social media. Town Council approved the new rates on Oct. 15 with no comments from the public.
Marana Water is dedicated to ensuring the high level of service our customers have come to expect, and the approved five-year rate plan will help us meet that goal. For more information, please visit maranaaz.gov/water-rates-and-fees. Be sure to follow us on Instagram @MaranaWater.
Jamsheed Mehta is the Marana Town Manager.
