For Water Subcommittee Meeting September 18, 2025
TO: Water Subcommittee Members
APPROVAL: Tanya Williams, City Manager
FROM: Nicole Hemmans, Senior Administrative Analyst
Title
Staff Requests that the Water Subcommittee Provide Feedback on the Update to the Proposed Water and Wastewater/Sewer Rate Study.
(ACTION)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Water Subcommittee provide feedback on the update to the proposed Water and Wastewater/Sewer Rate Study.
BACKGROUND
On July 23, 2024, the City Council/Rialto Utility Authority (RUA) Board adopted a one-year rate adjustment, effective January 1, 2025, for water and wastewater/sewer services. The one-year rate was based on a five-year financial projection. Staff were directed to return in 2025 with an updated rate analysis for Council/RUA Board reevaluation.
In accordance with the City Council’s direction to return in 2025 for a reevaluation, staff is preparing to present an updated analysis to the City Council/Rialto Utility Authority (RUA) Board to reassess the water and wastewater rates. On July 24, 2025, staff shared a proposed schedule for the rate study with the Water Subcommittee and requested feedback to support the development of the updated rate analysis.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
Staff and RWS are working with financial consultant Sanjay Guar and his team at Water Economics to prepare a financial analysis and rate study to determine the potential rate increases necessary for the Rialto Utility Authority to operate and project funding, and to be in compliance with the 2012 Concession Agreement. The five-year analysis considers projected expenditures, Capital Improvement Program (CIP) projects, cash reserves, potential long-term debt financing, and debt coverage requirements.
City staff, consultants, and RWS principals plan to update the Water Subcommittee on the status of the rate study, the projected timeline for a 218 hearing for the Council to consider rate increases, and to seek input and feedback on the various key factors in the analysis, such as:
• Water CIP projects in the next five years
• Wastewater CIP projects in the next five years
• Any potential financing needs for selected capital projects
• Trustee coverage requirements
• Debt coverage requirements
• RUA reserve balances and usage
• The desirability of a multi-year rate increase for strengthening rating agency and future long-term debt positions, and lower issuance costs
• Final determination of CIP projects to be included in financial analysis
Water Economics will present its preliminary analysis and identify any outstanding assumptions, data needs, or directions required to complete the study, per the attached PowerPoint presentation.
Included in the packet is RWS’s 2025 CIP project’s presentation that provides background for the various projects analyzed as part of the rate study financial analysis. Though staff do not intend to go through the presentation at the meeting, it does provide detailed information on each project.
Further, staff will discuss the remaining elements of the process and schedule with the Subcommittee through to the 218 hearing.
Once the Subcommittee provides feedback and direction, the team will finalize the rate analysis and related rate adjustments for review at the next Water Subcommittee meeting. A draft Proposition 218 notice will also be presented at that time for Subcommittee review. This draft will be subject to further refinement prior to distribution to RUA customers. The notice will include the proposed hearing date and time, along with information on protest procedures, as required under Proposition 218.
ATTACHMENT(S)
PowerPoint Presentation by Water Resource Economics
CIP PowerPoint Presentation for informational purposes