How does the city compare with nearby municipalities? It’s complicated

By Bob Kaplan

I’ve had several conversations recently about Ashland’s water rates. Are they high? Are they low? How are they set?

Not surprisingly, it’s complicated! Each city chooses its own mix of flat monthly fees and consumption charges to cover costs, along with how steeply rates should climb for households that consume the most water. Medford charges extra to deliver water to households at higher elevations. Grants Pass includes a “water plant replacement fee” in its flat monthly charge.

How Ashland does it

Ashland’s water rate structure is based on a 2016 Water Cost of Services Study.

Residential customers pay a monthly flat rate to cover fixed operating costs. It includes a customer charge of $13.33, and a basic service charge depending on the diameter of the household’s water meter ($15.62 for a three-quarter-inch meter) — a total of $28.95 per month.

Volumetric (consumption) charges cover the cost of collecting, treating and distributing our water. To encourage conservation, prices increase as a household uses more water, particularly in summer when water is especially precious. We even add another rate tier between June and September to discourage very high consumption (over 3,600 cubic feet or 26,928 gallons per month).

Your water bill includes a graph showing monthly usage over the last year. Our household used 7,800 cubic feet last year. In the winter we used 100 cubic feet per month, at an average cost of $32/month. All but $3 was the flat customer and service charges. Our low water use reflects the fact that we are a two-person household, and we have low-flow faucets, shower heads, toilets and efficient WaterSense appliances.

In summer we use a lot more water because we have a yard. Although we’ve removed most of our lawn and we irrigate with drip emitters and micro-sprayers, our plants need a lot of water. Last year, we averaged about 1,700 cubic feet per month in the heat of summer. Our monthly bill averaged $93, and most of that was the consumption charge.

How does Ashland compare with other cities?

It’s hard to compare across jurisdictions, but here’s a table comparing what two households might pay in Ashland and neighboring communities. Check these against your May bill to see how your costs might compare.

The bottom line: Ashland households that don’t use much water likely pay less than they would in Phoenix or Grants Pass, but more than Medford or Talent. Households using a lot of water probably pay more in Ashland than they would elsewhere in the valley.

What can we expect in the future?

Ashland hasn’t raised water rates since 2019, so we’re due for an increase as the cost of labor and materials has gone up.

Additionally, we need to replace our aging water treatment plant. It’s located in a narrow canyon below Reeder Reservoir — which provides almost all of our drinking water. There’s no space there to treat toxic algae that are a growing risk with hotter summers, and the treatment plant is vulnerable to floods, fires and landslides. The estimated cost to replace the plant is $55 million to $70 million.

A portion of the $17 million accumulated balance in the water fund can cover some of the cost, and staff have identified long-term low-interest financing for the rest. When staff presented estimates last December that would increase rates 10% annually over the next few years, the City Council asked for additional modeling. We asked staff to: (1) explore raising rates more for high than low-usage households; (2) look for more low-cost financing and grants; and (3) expand utility discounts for low-income households. In short, we’re looking for the most equitable way to ensure safe drinking water long into the future. In the meantime, please take advantage of the city’s assistance to conserve water and start saving money today.

Email Ashland City Councilor Bob Kaplan at bob@council.ashland.or.us. Email letters to the editor and viewpoint submissions to news@ashland.news.

April 30: Replaced chart initially posted with story that cropped off Talent figures with a chart that includes Talent.