Modesto water bills will rise nearly 25% by 2027. Here are 8 ways customers can save money

John Holland
·3 min read
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The Modesto City Council voted Tuesday evening to boost water rates nearly 25% by 2027.

The average residential bill will go from $67.13 a month now to $83.66 in 2027, a staff report said. Actual charges are much higher in the dry months and lower in other times.

Under state law, the proposal would have died if a majority of the 75,584 customers filed protests. Only 144 did.

The vote was 6-1, with Councilman Chris Ricci dissenting. He said Modesto residents already face a recent garbage rate hike and a new local sales tax of 1%.

Councilman David Wright also noted those burdens but still voted for the new water rates. “Everybody’s getting hit right and left, but having clean water is important to our city,” he said.

New rates will begin Oct. 1

Bills will rise 4.5% on Oct. 1 and by the same percentage on July 1 of the next four years. Businesses will see roughly similar rises.

The water comes from numerous wells and a Tuolumne River treatment plant operated by the Modesto Irrigation District. The system serves Modesto, Salida, Empire, Grayson, Del Rio and a tiny spot in Turlock. The outlying areas were added via the 1995 purchase of the Del Este Water Co.

The rate process is dictated by state Proposition 218 of 1996. It requires the city to mail out notices to all of the account holders, who can protest via return mail or at the council meeting.

Ricci said the process should include options for protesting by email or other high-tech means. Instead, “You have to do it 1977-style with an envelope and a stamp,” he said.

Several ways to reduce water charges

Water customers can trim their bills through several discount and rebate programs:

  • The city pays $2 per square foot of lawn replaced by landscaping that uses less water. The total cannot exceed $3,000 for a residential customer or $6,000 for a business.

  • Rebates for drip irrigation are 50 cents for every square foot of yard converted from sprinklers, up to $1,000 per customer.

  • High-efficiency clothes washers can earn rebates up to $200, available to apartments as well as houses.

  • New toilets have a rebate of up to $100, offered to houses and apartments built before 1992, when plumbing standards were tightened.

  • A city worker can provide a free consultation on water-saving measures in general.

  • The rates are structured to be especially high for heavy water users. They can reduce their bills the most by monitoring outdoor consumption on hot days.

  • Low-income households can apply for $45 discounts off the total monthly bill for water, sewer, trash and storm drain services. They must be enrolled in at least one state or federal assistance program, such as CalWorks or Medi-Cal.

  • The city offers one-time incentives for paperless billing. Customers can get $10 for switching to email alerts, which link them to the online billing portal. They can earn another $10 by setting up automatic payments though debit or credit cards or bank accounts.

More information on the city programs is at www.modestogov.com/943/Water-Conservation.

The extra income will help meet rising costs for operations and upgrades to the system, Utilities Director Will Wong told the council.

The needs include fixing water main leaks, maintaining storage tanks, replacing undersized lines and treating wells that exceed health standards. The city also plans groundwater recharge projects under a California law that seeks to end overpumping statewide by about 2040.