Water Rates on the Rise

We received a water bill from the Village of Scarsdale this week that far exceeded any of our prior bills. Though we live on a third of an acre and do not have a pool, our bill went from about $100 in August to $721.50 for a reading date of June 21- September 4. A neighbor on a similarly-sized plot reported that their bill was $1,400. Was it a mistake?

Curious to find out more we called the Scarsdale Water Department and found out that the rate for water consumption above 50 units is more than triple the rate for the first 50 units. To be clear, the first 50 units were billed at a rate of $2.05 each, while the remaining 80 were billed at $7.18 per unit.

The woman at the water department reminded me that unlike the prior summer this year there were no watering restrictions– allowing residents to use their sprinklers as much as they desired. And I must admit, though our lawn looked lovely this year, we are paying for it dearly.

We also emailed Village Manager Al Gatta for an explanation of what's behind the high cost for excess water and here is what he shared:

From Village Manager Al Gatta

Our rates have been pretty steady in the past years and rank very well with the 18 utilities for which we have comparisons. For example, in the last ten years, 2004-2005 to 2014-2015, the rate increased from $1.60 per unit to $2.05, a .45 increase or about 2.8% a year. Last year the rate was not increased and remained at the 2012-2013 rate of $1.95. Scarsdale was the 14th lowest rate of the 18 utilities that were measured against.

The sole and most significant factor in rate increases is the charge by the New York City Water Board for its water. Since 1999-2000 the entitlement charge increased from$383.78 per million gallons to an approximate $1,600 per million gallons, or 417%. The excess rate increased from $1,737.97 in 1999-2000 to an approximate $5,200 in 2014-2015, an approximate 300%.

When I was in school there was a book called the Cadillac Desert and it was about controlling the water rights to the Colorado River where you had Native Americans, Colorado, Arizona and California disputing rights to the resource. The Native Americans said he who controls the water rights controls the public policy. It certainly has been the case with the City of New York in the last 25 years.

New York City Water Board has been forceful in its public policy in a number of ways which has caused the water rates to increase significantly over the past years. Some examples are support for environmental issues such as fixing its multi-billion dollar infrastructure, to full treatment of water, to increasing the treating of water for certain bacteria. This has been in the $billions. Also to protect the watershed in Westchester County, it has given out $millions in grants to up-county Towns and Villages for land preservation and infrastructure improvements. Also the city has been a leader in advancing programs that reduce the use of water by the 20 million people it serves. All of these programs have been welcomed and supported by Westchester residents and particularly the environmental groups in the County.

It looks like the only way for residents to reduce expenses for water is to reduce the amount used, i.e. conserve. The City is now involved in a multi-million dollar program to inform, educate and encourage the reduction of water use through its system.

Finally, the resident in Scarsdale that had such a large increase in the quarterly bill should call the Water Department to come out and check the meter and investigate for leaks.