Increases to fund $2.7 billion infrastructure repair plan
The East Bay Municipal Water District (EBMUD), who just celebrated 100 years, announced this week that it will adopt new service rates for customers starting Saturday, July 1, with additional changes to be made in a year.
The planned rate changes will raise the price of water usage by 19 cents a day for the 2023 fiscal year and up to 21 cents per day for the 2024 fiscal year. Rates for wastewater in the West Berkeley-Oakland Hills also will rise, but that change will not affect Alameda residents.
The increased rates are caused by a new $2.7 billion two-year budget plan announced by the EBMUD Board, which approved the budget plan, along with a $2.8 billion budget for the next five years.
The budget plan is to cover the construction of more resilient municipal infrastructure projects in order to repair and replace old infrastructure affected by aging and climate change, and to help cover increased prices caused by inflation. Utilities affected by the infrastructure plans are water and waste pipelines, water reservoirs, and water treatment plants throughout the district area.
Explaining the Board’s decision for the budget plan, Board President Andy Katz said, “As EBMUD commemorates 100 years of high-quality water service to the East Bay, we recognize that we must build on the investments of the past while utilizing new technologies to ensure our region’s people.”
How the raised rates will affect customers is yet to be determined, as EBMUD customers have not yet seen the new rates on their monthly utility bills. More information about EBMUD’s budget and rates can be found at ebmud.com/rates.
