This notice regards:
Items to Note
Proposed Increases to Water Rates, Land-Based Charges, and SGMA Charge
Westlands Water District (District) proposes to increase certain water rates, land-based charges, and a Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) charge, effective March 1, 2025, upon adoption by the Board of Directors, for the purpose of collecting funds to cover costs related to water service. The District will hold a public hearing on the proposed increases and changes to water rates, land-based charges, and a SGMA charge on Thursday, February 20, 2025 at 9:00 a.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard, at the District’s Fresno Office, located at 286 W. Cromwell, Fresno, CA 93711. The public may also attend virtually and participate in the public hearing via Zoom at the following link:
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 816 0686 4252
Passcode: 3130
At this public hearing, the Board will hear and consider all objections and protests1, if any, to the proposed water rates, land-based charges, and SGMA charge, listed below. Pursuant to Government Code section 53759.1, failure to timely submit a written objection bars any right to challenge the District’s water rates, land-based charges, or SGMA charge in a legal proceeding. Further details about the protest and written objection processes can be found at the end of this Proposition 218 notice (Notice).
The attachments to this Notice provide the proposed increased water rates, land-based charges, and SGMA charge. The written bases for the proposed increases to the District’s water rates, land-based charges, and SGMA charge are available on the District’s website.
Water Rates
The District proposes to increase water rates for the purposes of recovering the District’s costs to provide water service, including (1) operation and maintenance costs [as specified in the District’s draft Fiscal Year (FY) 2025–26 budget], (2) various outside agency pass-through costs, (3) costs to operate the Groundwater Management Program, including installation of groundwater pumps and integration into the District’s delivery system, (4) costs to acquire additional water supply where water users have exceeded their allocation, (5) costs of temporary facilities where the District’s permanent distribution system has not been completed, and (6) costs to fulfill the District’s water exchange agreement on behalf of water users within the District’s Merged Lands/Area 2.2 The proposed water rates also recover costs of supplying Municipal & Industrial water.
The District’s water rates must be increased over the current year’s rates due to rising costs and inflation in addition to an estimated lower initial Central Valley Project (CVP) allocation than the current year, as the District’s costs per acre-foot of water increase when CVP allocation decreases. Although the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) has not yet issued the District’s CVP allocation, District staff are estimating an initial allocation of 5 percent.3 Therefore, the proposed increased water rates are based on the costs of water supply, conveyance, and other related costs assuming a 5 percent CVP allocation. Last water year, the initial CVP allocation was 15 percent, which rose to 50 percent over a series of increases.
If approved, water users will be charged various combinations of water rates per acre-foot of water delivered, based on the cost to the District of providing water service to the water user. To determine the cost per acre-foot, the costs associated with each rate will be divided by the quantity of water delivered. Water users may also negotiate the purchase of non-District water for their use. In addition to any applicable water rates, these water users may incur additional fees imposed by the transferring agency to which the water users contractually agree. These contractual payments or arrangements are not described within this Notice.
Enclosed is a table listing the proposed water rates. The rate chargeable to any specific water user will depend on the type and quantity of water delivered. The District may set each water rate to be levied at any amount below the proposed maximum amount without conducting another Proposition 218 process. In no event shall water rates collected exceed the actual and proportional cost of service attributable to each parcel.
Automatic Adjustments for Pass-Through Water Rates
As part of the District’s water rates, the District collects fees and charges levied on it by outside agencies, including: the USBR Agricultural water contract rate and restoration fund rate, the San Luis Delta-Mendota Water Authority (SLDMWA) Operations and Maintenance rate, and the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Water Rights Fee. The District proposes to adopt a schedule of fees or charges authorizing automatic adjustments that pass-through 100% of increases in wholesale charges for water for a period of five (5) years. (Gov. Code § 53756.) The amount of automatic adjustments will be based directly on the incremental difference in costs that the District will incur from other agencies as a result of increases or decreases in the amount such agencies charge the District. Any such adjustments will only be made to the extent such increases or decreases are not already reflected in the schedule of charges then in effect. Data documenting the amount of the increase or decrease in costs and the basis for all adjustment calculations will be made available to the public upon request. The pass-through cost applies only to the four water rates described above and will be assessed on each acre-foot delivered. At least 30 days’ written notice will be provided before any such adjustments will take effect.
Land-Based Charges (Except SGMA Charge)
The District also proposes to increase land-based charges (except the SGMA charge) for the purpose of collecting funds to cover: (1) debt service required as a result of District Water Supply acquisitions related to the Sagouspe settlement agreement; (2) extraordinary repairs and replacements of distribution system pipes; (3) expenses associated with the representation of landowners in dispute with USBR regarding drainage issues; (4) Westlands Water Quality Coalition charges for representative monitoring and reporting under the Regional Water Quality Control Board’s Waste Discharge Requirements General Order for the Western Tulare Basin; and (5) debt service required for prepayment of the District’s remaining obligation for construction costs of the CVP. The increases are necessary due to inflation and general rising costs of labor, materials, and overhead.
If approved, all land-based charges (except the SGMA charge) will be calculated based on a landowner’s irrigable acreage.4 To calculate a landowner’s cost under each land-based charge (except for the SGMA charge), the District’s total cost is divided by the total irrigable acres subject to each specific land-based charge. This amount is then multiplied by a landowner’s total irritable acres to determine the total amount due to the District for each specific land-based charge (except
for the SGMA charge).
Enclosed is a listing of proposed land-based charges (the SGMA charge is listed separately) which identifies each landowner of record’s parcel, the irrigable acres for each parcel, the charge per irrigable acre, and the total calculated charge per parcel. Payment may be made by the landowner or the tenant.
Landowners with parcels that generate less than $2.00 in land-based charges (not including the SGMA charge) will not be charged, as the cost to the District to collect those funds exceeds the value. Therefore, if the parcel’s irrigable acreage is too small to generate a bill, a listing of proposed land-based charges will not be enclosed.
The District may set each land-based charge to be levied at any amount below the proposed maximum amount without conducting another Proposition 218 process. In no event shall landbased charges collected exceed the actual and proportional cost of service attributable to each parcel.
SGMA Charge
The District proposes to impose a SGMA charge to recover the District’s costs of ongoing implementation costs of the GSP, including but not limited to annual Department of Water Resources (DWR) reporting, groundwater monitoring, land subsidence monitoring, water quality monitoring, public outreach, and the preparation of the San Joaquin Valley Westside Subbasin, Department of Water Resources Bulletin 118 Basin No. 5-022.09 (Basin) Groundwater Sustainability Plan’s (GSP) required five-year evaluations and updates.5 These costs are included in the District’s draft FY 2025–26 budget pursuant to its role as the Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) for the Basin. The increases are necessary due to inflation and general rising costs of labor, materials, and overhead.
The District is not seeking to increase the SGMA meter installation charge adopted on February 22, 2024 pursuant to Board Resolution No. 102-24. If approved, the SGMA charge will be calculated based on a landowner’s gross acres located within the boundaries of the Basin. To calculate a landowner’s per acre cost under the SGMA change, the District’s total GSP implementation costs will be divided by the total gross acres within the Westside Subbasin. If approved, all landowners within the Westside Subbasin, except de minimis users, will be charged on a per acre basis.6 The District will account for costs accruing to de minimis users, as well as District-owned land, via permissible funding sources.
Enclosed is a listing of the proposed SGMA land-based charge which identifies each landowner of record’s parcel, the total acres for each parcel, the charge per acre, and the total calculated charge per parcel. Payment may be made by the landowner or the tenant.
Landowners with parcels that generate less than $2.00 in SGMA charges will not be charged, as the cost to the District to collect those funds exceeds the value. Therefore, if a parcel’s gross acreage is too small to generate a bill, a listing of the proposed SGMA charge will not be enclosed.
The District may set each land-based charge to be levied at any amount below the proposed maximum amount without conducting another Proposition 218 process. In no event shall the collected SGMA charge exceed the actual and proportional cost of service attributable to each parcel.
Automatic Inflationary Adjustments
To enable the District to recover its costs each year, each water rate, land-based charge, and SGMA charge is subject to an annual automatic inflationary increase each March 1 for the next five (5) years based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all urban consumers in the Pacific Division, series ID CUUR0490SA0. (See Gov. Code § 53756.)
Protests and Written Objections
Written objections and protests against any or all proposed water rate(s) and/or land-based charge(s) must be filed with the District Secretary before the close of the public hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. on February 20, 2025. Failure to submit a timely written objection bars any right to challenge the District’s water rates or land-based charges in a legal proceeding. (See District’s Rate Adoption Policy, dated January 6 2025; Gov. Code §§ 53759.1, 53759.2.)
All written protests and objections must identify the water rate(s), land-based charge(s), and/or SGMA charge being opposed and include a description of the land owned sufficient to identify it. If the name on the written protest or objection does not appear on the last equalized assessment roll of the District as the owner of the land, the signer of the protest must also submit written evidence of ownership. Written objections must also specify the grounds for alleging noncompliance.
Written protests and objections may be mailed to:
District Secretary
Westlands Water District
P.O. Box 5199
Fresno, CA 93755
If written protests against a proposed water rate, land-based charge, or SGMA charge are filed by a majority of the affected landowners, the District shall not impose the water rate, land-based charge, or SGMA charge.
Any judicial action or proceeding to attack, review, set aside, void, validate, or annul an ordinance, resolution, or motion adopting a water rate, charge, or land-based charge, or modifying or amending an existing water rate, land-based charge, or SGMA charge shall be commenced within 120 days of the effective date, or the date of the final passage, adoption, or approval of the ordinance, resolution, or motion adopting, modifying, or amending the water rate, land-based charge, or SGMA charge, whichever is later. (See Gov. Code § 53759.)
If you have questions about the proposed water rates, land-based charges, or SGMA charge, please call Dalia Lopez at (559) 241-6227.
No. 766