United Water Files Second Rate Request Within Weeks

In June, United Water filed a petition for a surcharge on water rates to cover the costs to date of the proposed Haverstraw Water Supply Project. On Wednesday, it announced a rate hike filing in connection with infrastructure improvements and increased operating expenses. Combined, the two increases, if approved, would cost customers an average of more than $200 yearly.

United Water spokesman Rich Henning differentiated between the two rate requests.

“That petition last month was directly filed as a potential surcharge solely for costs associated with the Haverstraw Water Supply Project, for which we have accumulated roughly $50 million in expenditures,” he explained. “This rate filing has absolutely no costs related to the project, but represents investments in our existing water system as well as the taxes we pay to communities in which we have real estate in or pay them a franchise tax.”

The petition filed on June 14 asked for an average increase of $4.96 beginning August 1 at an annual cost of $59.54. The rate increase application filed with the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) on Wednesday would raise the average customer’s bill by $12 per month, a total of $144 dollars per year after a review process that could take up to 11 months. The application also seeks permission to switch to monthly billing from quarterly statements.

Henning said United Water has invested nearly $80 million in infrastructure in Rockland and Orange counties over the last three years and has not received a rate increase since 2010. In its statement about the rate hike application, United Waters said the cost of using tap water would remain at about one penny per gallon for a typical family of four using about 6,730 gallons a month.

“The main justification comes from building greater reliability in our system, replacing older mains with new ones, replacing pumps and adding generators, as exhibited during the severe storms we have seen during the past few years, and passing along higher taxes we pay to serve the community,” he explained. “Nearly 36 percent of a customer’s bill is now going to pay taxes, up from 28 percent about 20 years ago.”

United Water Vice President and General Manager Michael Pointing noted the company currently pays approximately $17.5 million annually in real estate and franchise taxes. He said those are expected to increase by approximately $5.4 million at the time new rates could go into effect.

“The value of our infrastructure investments was unmistakable during recent severe weather events, including Hurricanes Sandy and Irene,” said Pointing. “While residents experienced prolonged outages with other utilities, we were able to maintain uninterrupted water service for virtually all of our customers even though we lost power at nearly all of our facilities.” 

The purpose of Wednesday’s rate filing is to recover capital investments and increased operating costs since 2010. United Water cited the following as examples of its capital investments:

·      Bringing additional short-term water supplies online to meet growing customer needs as ordered by the PSC.

·      Continuing the Underground Infrastructure Renewal Program to improve water pressure, fire flow and water reliability throughout Rockland.

·      Making improvements at the Lake DeForest Water Treatment Plant to comply with water quality standards, efficiency and dependability. 

·      Enhancing service reliability by improving storage tanks and adding backup generators.

·      Upgrading well and booster pump motors to reduce energy costs.

As part of the rate filing, United Water has proposed replacing current quarterly billing with monthly statements. Pointing that the change would make it easier for customers to budget and help identify leaks and theft of service. 

The rate case filing is available at United Water offices at 360 West Nyack Road in West Nyack, by visiting municipal government offices throughout Rockland and Orange counties, the New City Free Library at 220 North Main Street in New City, or online at www.unitedwater.com/uwny or www.dps.state.ny.us.