PALMDALE – The Palmdale Water District Board of Directors will hold a public hearing on Wednesday to discuss modifying capital improvement fees for new water service connections.
The policy modification would also include the possibility of adopting a new water supply fee that would be apply to new water service connections constructed within the district’s service area, the water district noted in its report.
“The proposed water supply fee would be imposed on development projects within the district’s service area to cover the cost of water resources and related infrastructure necessitated by a particular development project,” Matthew Knudson, the district’s engineering manager, said in a notice to the Los Angeles/ Ventura Chapter of the Building Industry Association.
According to a district memorandum, Palmdale Water District staff met with representatives of the Building Industry Association (BIA) and KB Home on Sept. 3 to discuss proposed fee modifications, review current water supply availability, and water demands, according to the board’s background report.
District staff followed up on Sept. 25 to meet with a representative of BIA to review fees charged by other public water suppliers in the Antelope Valley.
The district also held a public workshop on Aug. 12, and staff presented the background, need, and methodology used to calculate the proposed modifications to the capital improvement fee and implementation of a new water supply fee.
In its report, the district said it “must establish an equitable revenue source that will fund the development and/or acquisition of new water sources based on identified needs” if it is to continue allowing the connection of new services to the water system.
Carollo Engineers, which performed the water supply fee analysis for the district, said in a memorandum to district officials that the purpose of the study was “to develop a new revenue source (water supply fee) to equitably fund the development or acquisition of future sources based on identified needs.”
Carollo noted that PWD does not have a “cost recovery mechanism (fee) to fund the future development or procurement of additional water supplies.”
The public hearing will be heard at the district board meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the district’s office, 2029 East Avenue Q in Palmdale.
For more information, visit the Palmdale Water District online at http://www.palmdalewater.org, or call the district at 661-947-4111.
