5.3. ERMUSR 08-12-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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J Elk River -^~ Municipal Utilities 13069 Orono Parkway • P.O. Box 430 Elk River, MN 55330-0430 August 6, 2008 To: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Jerry Takle John Dietz Jerry Gumphrey From: Bryan Adams Subject: Water Rates Phone: 763.441.2020 Fax: 763.441.8099 At our July 2008 meeting, John Dietz indicated he received a call from a concerned citizen about our water rates. This person felt our rates were too high. At the August 4th Elk River City Council meeting, this citizen along with another citizen again expressed that they felt our rates were to high especially for those who sprinkle their yards. Attached is the following information for your review. 1) Copy of e-mail from this concerned citizen. 2) Expanded water rate survey from 12 communities. 3) Well drawdown data for Elk River wells for 2007-2008. 4) Monthly pumpage and maximum daily pumpage graphs of Elk Rivers system for years 2007 & 2008. 5) 2008 Water Budget Summary and P & L Summary of operations for years (2002 through 2007) from our recent audit. 6) Copy of State of Minnesota law change chapter 363 requiring conservation rate structure. 7) DNR Water Appreciation Permit (note: paragraph 11 requires conservation). I offer the following comments about the above. #1 & #2) The survey the customer supplied is accurate as far as it went. If you look at our expanded survey, it reflects a different picture. The rate structures for these cities, show a large variation and Elk River looks more in line with other communities. The higher use meters that do lawn sprinkling pay proportionally more due to the inclining block rates. This is done by design. Minnesota legislative and our DNR permits require inclining block rate structure (see items 6 & 7 above). Utilities using a flat rate structure will be changing in the near future.