Item 08 - Water and Sewer Rate Adjustments

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Table 16. Water Reserve Policies and FY 2026 target Operating Reserve 3 Months Operating $18,373,270 Capital Reserve 50% of Average 10-year PAYGO $4,000,000 Emergency Reserve $4 Million $4,000,000 Total $26,373,270 Table 17. Sewer Reserve Policies and FY 2026 target Operating Reserve 3 Months Operating $2,189,860 Capital Reserve 50% of Average 10-year PAYGO $2,459,601 Emergency Reserve $4 Million $4,000,000 Total $8,649,461 Equivalent Meter Size When designing fixed water service charges, the potential demand or capacity requirements placed on the water system can be measured by the size of installed meters which receive services from the system. The safe operating flow (or capacity) of a particular size of the meter is essentially the limiting factor in terms of the demand that can be exerted on the water system through the meter. Larger meters typically pay a higher cost to join the system, and higher fixed rates. The ratio of the safe operating capacity of various sizes of meters relative to the capacity of a base meter may be used to determine appropriate charges for the larger meter sizes3. The City considers 5/8" x 3/4" meters as the base meter capacity. The capacity ratio is calculated using the meter capacities in gallons per minute (gpm) provided in the AWWA M1 for meters larger than 3/4 inch. The sewer ratios used in this study reflect the actual average winter flow ratios by meter size for a two -month billing period, December and January, and are calculated using ccf. Table 18 show the equivalent water meter ratios used in this study for standard meters. Table 19 shows the average winter use ratios by meter size which will be used for the sewer cost of service analysis. s From "Principles of Water Rates, Fees, and Charges" by American Water Works Association, 2017, Seventh Edition, Appendix B, p. 385. City of Santa Ana - 2026 Water and Sewer Rate Study 15