Sonoma Water To Raise Wholesale Rates

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — The Sonoma County Water Agency —Sonoma Water— Board of Directors voted Tuesday to increase wholesale water rates to address the pressing aging infrastructure needs.

The adjusted wholesale water rates are forecasted to have a modest impact on household budgets of between $2-$3 per month, based on location and water usage.

The cities of Cotati, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa and Sonoma; the town of Windsor; and the Marin Municipal, North Marin and Valley of the Moon water districts, all purchase their water from Sonoma Water.

Sonoma Water said the funds produced by the adjusted rates will largely go toward operations and maintenance of its supply and distribution infrastructure, including cathodic protection— corrosion control— to stave off rusting aqueducts, replacement of aging pumps and valves, enhancements in water treatment processes and upkeep of water storage tanks.

In recent years, resources were redirected to respond to the impacts of wildfires and the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving critical infrastructure maintenance postponed.

"This increase manages to balance the needs of water retailers and the mission to ensure the reliability and efficiency of water delivery, leak prevention and mitigation against system failures," Board Chair David Rabbitt said. "These critical upgrades to our water infrastructure are needed to continue providing clean and reliable drinking water to more than 600,000 people in Sonoma and Marin counties."

The wholesale water rate adjustments for the aqueducts will see increments ranging from 8.14 percent to 9.98 percent. With the new rates, local water providers will be subject to an approximate charge of $0.004 per gallon, or less than half a cent, positioning Sonoma Water with some of the lowest wholesale water rates in the Bay Area, the agency said.