HDR Engineering Inc 3/26/2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

City of Everett 12020 Water,Filtration,Sewer,and Stormwater Rate Study In 1.Project Approach within the base charge and the use of 5 CCF of water. Based upon that discussion and if deemed appropriate, HDR will develop alternative rate designs(structures)to transition the City to their desired approach. This will include a review of the fixed and variable charge revenue generation for the utility. The City would also like to evaluate a demand charge for specific wholesale customers based on the system requirements and demand characteristics of these wholesale customers. The agreements expire in 2020, and the study will evaluate the application and calculation of a demand charge for the applicable wholesale customers. Sewer Charges—The City's sewer charges for non-residential and wholesale customers uses the concept of equivalent residential units(ERUs)to assess and charge customers. In the case of the City, an ERU is currently defined as 9 CCF. The City has used this definition for many years and desires to have it reviewed in more detail to confirm that it remains appropriate, and if not, what volume or amount would be more reflective of residential usage. As a part of Task 1.4, HDR will have already reviewed this issue in great detail and the cost of service analysis will be reflective of the appropriate definition of an ERU. Should the City decide to revise the definition of an ERU based upon HDR's findings and conclusions, new sewer rate structures will be developed accordingly. Sewer/Stormwater Charges—The other sewer charge issue to be addressed in this task is the separation of stormwater charges from sewer charges. The current sewer rates include stormwater charges. The City appears to be ready to establish stormwwater rates based upon impervious area. If that is the case, then the sewer charges(i.e., rates)developed as a part of this study will eliminate that portion of the rate which is related to stormwater costs. Bill comparisons will need to be developed to illustrate the combined customer bill impact of the elimination of the stormwater charges within the sewer rates and the establishment of separate stormwater charges. Stormwater Charges—As noted above, the City is interested in transitioning to separate stormwater rates based upon impervious area. This issue and the transition to impervious charges has been studied extensively by the City since the last comprehensive rate study. Similar to the City's previous studies on this topic, this is a relatively complex task requiring a number of analytical steps jointly performed by HDR and the City. Provided below is a more detailed discussion of these steps and the role of the City and HDR in them. ✓ Review of Parcel/Impervious Surface Data—The development of stormwater charges based upon the impervious surface area of a parcel requires a detailed review of non- residential parcel data. The City and HDR have jointly worked on this particular aspect of stormwater rates. The City will be contracting for updated aerial photos of parcels in May 2020 and the City hopes to have updated parcel data available in time for use in the development of the 2021 rates. The City will be responsible for the development of the new parcel data. In the past, HDR has been responsible for sorting and "scrubbing"the City's parcel data (e.g. duplicates, data errors, non-billable parcels). If the data is available and appears to be consistent and reliable compared to the existing data, then the new data will be utilized. If the new data is not available, the City will need to make a decision to either continue the existing stormwater rate approach for an additional year(s), or alternatively, use the existing parcel data until the new updated parcel data is available. Page 7