On Oct. 27, Turlock City Council approved a water rate increase of seven percent that will be implemented in January 2016. This is part of a five-year plan to foster conservation due to the ongoing impact of the drought.
Last year, a plan was introduced to increase water rates six times between 2014 and 2019, but each increase must be individually approved by City Council before it can be put into action.  The January 2016 increase is the second in this plan.
Before approving the newest increase, council members took in a presentation that included an updated Water Rate Study.  According to Municipal Services Director Michael Cooke, there has been “a significant change in water consumption and a limited but notable impact on revenue” since the first rate increase in July 2015.
A large change in water use trends over the next eight years has been projected, estimated at a reduction of about 700 million gallons. City Council hopes that the rate increase will encourage residents and businesses to keep conserving water. Turlock must continue to meet a 32 percent water conservation mark, as mandated by Governor Brown.
“We don’t know that the governor won’t extend the drought mandate … the less you do now, the more you have to do later,” said Cooke, “A year and a half ago, no one in this room would have dreamed that we’d be going through what we are now.”
Some council members voiced concerns about how increasing rates will affect struggling families and seniors.  
“Some of us would like some dependability in these rates. I certainly understand the need for adjustments but … we spent a lot of time this evening talking about low-income households, and it seems to me that there needs to be some consideration for these special-needs groups,” said Bill DeHart Jr., Turlock City Council Member.
“We’ve arrived at a point of perfect storm. We’ve got rates that must increase in some capacity, we’ve got a lack of available resources to sell, we’ve got mandated reduction and usage, we’ve got a penalty for using too much … we have many situations where we’ve kind of wondered ‘how in the world are we going to get from where we are now to where we need to be in 2016?’” said DeHart Jr.
Before casting her vote, Vice Mayor Bublak echoed DeHart Jr.’s sentiments. “I trust that our staff will find a way to help seniors and those who need assistance,” said Bublak.
The motion to approve the January 2016 water rate increase carried 5-0.
“We are being good stewards of our groundwater, the water we’ve been given… we’re not making a profit out of these rates,” said Gary Soiseth, Turlock City Mayor.