The Kaua’i County Water Board gave water consumers a break Wednesday. At a meeting in the water department’s headquarters in Lihu’e, the water board approved deferral of a proposed second rate increase for the department’s Water Plan 2020. The plan
The Kaua’i County Water Board gave water consumers a break Wednesday.
At a meeting in the water department’s headquarters in Lihu’e, the water board approved deferral of a proposed second rate increase for the department’s Water Plan 2020.
The plan is a $150 million project to significantly improve the reliability of the island’s public water system through the replacement of aging pipes and development of new water facilities.
As a result of the board’s action, the second rate increase won’t take effect until July 1, 2004.
The board took action following a public hearing held at the water department headquarters. No one attended it.
The board took such action after the water department announced there weren’t enough qualified engineers to work on projects identified in the first phase of the water plan.
If the water board had not approved the deferral of the second rate increase, residential customers would have paid $2.76 for the first 20,000 gallons, an extra $3.20 per thousand gallons between the 20,000 and 40,000 gallon margin and $4.50 per thousand gallons over 40,000 gallons.
The proposed second rate increase also called for increasing the monthly service charge from $9 to $12 for homes. The service charges varies on the size of the meter size.
Water consumers began paying $2.10 for the first 20,000 gallons of water used after the first rate increase went into effect July 2001.
Residential customers, for instance, who use between 20,000 to 40,000 gallons currently pay an extra $2.40 per thousand gallons. Over 40,000 gallons, they pay $3.40 per thousand gallons.
The tiered rate system requires customers to pay according to their water consumption. The more one uses, the more one pays.
Prior to the first rate increase, customers paid a flat rate of $1.78 per thousand gallons of water.
Because of the deferral of the second rate increase, the water department will see a projected revenue loss of $4 million over the next year.
The department derives most if not all of its revenues from water sales.
Ed Tschupp, manager and chief engineer of the water department, said the deferral of the rate increase came about primarily because its salaries for engineers are not competitive with those elsewhere.
“There is a disparity between the pay scale (of the water department) versus the mainland (employment market for engineers),” Tschupp said. “Nationwide, there is a shortage of engineers.”
Tschupp said water department customers will likely greet the board’s decision as “good news.”
But the bad news is that the department has not been able to get the projects done “as rapidly as we had wished,” Tschupp said.
“It is because our spending has been less than what was originally planned that we were able to defer the increase,” Tschupp said.
Water department officials have said department revenues, water sales and energy costs have come very close to those projected in Water Plan 2020.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
