By voting EBMUD into being 100 years ago, East Bay residents made a commitment to invest in the infrastructure needed to supply both themselves and the generations to come with clean, reliable water. As EBMUD begins its second century of service, we face numerous challenges.
Our aging infrastructure needs continued maintenance and replacement. Climate change is driving bigger swings between severe droughts and intense storms. Our water and wastewater systems must deal with emerging contaminants and changing regulations. And wastewater treatment must reduce stormwater infiltration and limit levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients to better protect San Francisco Bay.
To meet these challenges, EBMUD is entering the most capital-intensive period in its history. We’re increasing our five-year capital improvement program to invest $2.8 billion to:
- Upgrade water treatment plants
- Replace aging pipelines
- Rebuild neighborhood reservoirs
- Modernize wastewater facilities
- Rehabilitate sewer interceptors
- Overhaul pumping plants
EBMUD is a not-for-profit utility, and your rate dollars directly fund operations and capital improvements. Any additional revenue is reinvested in the system. It is imperative rates are sufficient to maintain and improve resilient and reliable water and wastewater systems of the future. Today, we are experiencing inflationary cost pressures on equipment, chemicals, energy and labor.
EBMUD is proposing rate increases that would result in average single-family customer water bill increases of 19 cents a day when new rates take effect July 1 and another 21 cents a day beginning July 1, 2024. Rates for wastewater customers would rise seven cents a day each of the next two fiscal years. These represent increases of approximately 8.5 percent in both FY 2024 and FY 2025. Visit ebmud.com/rates to learn more.
We are proud our drinking water remains a great value at a little over a penny a gallon. And for those who have trouble paying their water bills, we’re making our Customer Assistance Program easier to access. Information is available at ebmud.com/assistance.
EBMUD invests in our community. Thank you for investing in us.