[1]
Prior legislation: Ords. 35, 37, 40, 44, 47, 49, 50 and 51.
A. 
A guarantee deposit in the amount of:
1. 
Commercial: three months' estimated bill;
2. 
Residential – red: $250.00;
3. 
Residential – yellow: $150.00;
will be required unless the applicant for service can demonstrate creditworthiness. If the applicant is a current customer of the district with a satisfactory payment history, the guarantee deposit will be waived.
B. 
The guarantee deposit will be refunded with interest based on the average interest rate received by the district in the prior fiscal year from the local agency investment fund (LAIF), if none of the following occurs within a 12-month period:
1. 
Three or more delinquency charges within 12 months.
2. 
A returned payment from the bank.
3. 
Service locked off for nonpayment.
4. 
If no Social Security number is provided, a $250.00 deposit will be required for the duration of the account.
The district may require a guarantee deposit, on an unsecured account, if one of the aforementioned items occurs during the duration of water service.
(Res. 05-04 § 2.0; Res. 10-01 Exh. A; amended by district 10/2011; Res. 24-20, 2024)
A fee of $80.00 will be assessed to a customer who requests that water service be turned on at a time that is not within the field crew's regular work hours.
(Res. 05-04 § 5.0; Res. 10-01 Exh. A)
A late charge of $10.00 or 10 percent of the unpaid bill, whichever is greater, will be levied if customer payment is not received within 30 days after mailing of customer invoice by the district.
(Res. 05-04 § 7.0)
The monthly water service charges shall be imposed by the district at the rates set forth herein on any customer as a condition of service. Any water customer of an undeveloped parcel may avoid such payment of such water service charges by withdrawing his or her request for service, disconnecting from district facilities by removing the water meter from his or her property, and otherwise terminating district service in accordance with the district's rules and regulations. A water customer of an undeveloped parcel can disconnect from the water system if his or her water meter is removed by the district. The district will reimburse the amount of any acquisition of service charge previously paid by the customer to the district, less any administrative costs of the district associated with such reimbursement. Upon removal of the water meter, the customer shall be responsible for paying the district an annual standby charge at the rates then in effect. In the event the customer chooses to reconnect to the district's water system at a later date, the customer shall pay the district an acquisition service charge at the rate then in effect.
The monthly water service charge shall be as follows:
Table 6.15.080
Rates for Monthly Fixed Charge per Meter Size
Meter Size
FY2024
FY2025
FY2026
FY2027
FY2028
Effective Date
Sept 1, 2024
July 1, 2025
July 1, 2026
July 1, 2027
July 1, 2028
5/8-inch
$25.22
$27.24
$29.42
$31.78
$34.33
1-inch
$53.39
$57.67
$62.29
$67.82
$72.67
1 1/2-inch
$100.35
$108.38
$117.06
$126.43
$136.55
2-inch
$156.70
$169.24
$182.78
$197.41
$213.21
3-inch
$306.97
$331.53
$358.06
$386.71
$417.65
4-inch
$476.02
$514.11
$555.24
$599.66
$647.64
6-inch
$945.61
$1,021.26
$1,102.97
$1,191.21
$1,286.51
(Res. 05-04 § 8.0; Res. 07-19; Ord. 79 §§ 3 (Exh. A), 6, 2009; amended by district 10/2011; Ord. 83 § 5, 2011; Ord. 84 § 2, 2012; Ord. 89 § 2 (Exh. A), 2020; Ord. 90 § 2 (Exh. A), 2024)
Any rates, fees, or charges made for fire protection service to residential properties shall be established at the same meter size required by the district for the property, regardless of fire department requirements.
(Res. 05-04 § 30.0; Res. 10-01; Res. 10-06; Res. 10-18; Ord. 90 § 2 (Exh. A), 2024)
The monthly water consumption charge per unit (100 cubic feet) shall be as follows:
Table 6.15.100
Volumetric Rates per Hundred Cubic Feet (hcf)*
Customer Class Tiers
FY 24/25
Sept 1, 2024
FY 25/26
July 1, 2025
FY 26/27
July 1, 2026
FY 27/28
July 1, 2027
FY 28/29
July 1, 2028
Residential (SFR, MFR, MHP)1
Tier 1: 0-4 units
$4.42
$4.78
$5.17
$5.59
$6.04
Tier 2: 5-11 units
$7.53
$8.14
$8.80
$9.51
$10.28
Tier 3: 12+ units
$8.53
$9.22
$9.96
$10.76
$11.63
Commercial (COM)
Tier 1: 0-4 units
$7.22
$7.80
$8.43
$9.11
$9.84
Tier 2: 5-11 units
$7.92
$8.56
$9.25
$9.99
$10.79
Tier 3: 12+ units
$7.92
$8.56
$9.25
$9.99
$10.79
Public (PBE)
Tier 1: 0-4 units
$7.22
$7.80
$8.43
$9.11
$9.84
Tier 2: 5-11 units
$8.10
$8.75
$9.45
$10.21
$11.03
Tier 3: 12+ units
$8.43
$9.11
$9.84
$10.63
$11.49
Irrigation (IRR)
Tier 1: 0-4 units
$7.47
$8.07
$8.72
$9.42
$10.18
Tier 2: 5-11 units
$8.30
$8.97
$9.69
$10.47
$11.31
Tier 3: 12+ units
$11.47
$12.39
$13.39
$14.47
$15.63
CIMIS (CIM)
Tier 1: 0-4 units
$7.47
$8.07
$8.72
$9.42
$10.18
Tier 2: 5-11 units
$8.19
$8.85
$9.56
$10.33
$11.16
Tier 3: 12+ units
$8.19
$8.85
$9.56
$10.33
$11.16
Bulk (BLK)
Tier 1: 0-4 units
$7.00
$7.56
$8.17
$8.83
$9.54
Tier 2: 5-11 units
$7.63
$8.25
$8.91
$9.63
$10.41
Tier 3: 12+ units
$7.92
$8.56
$9.25
$9.99
$10.79
* One hundred cubic feet is equivalent to 748 gallons of water.
1 MFR and MHP have revised tiers based on unit count. For example: An apartment with 6 dwelling units would have a Tier 1 threshold of 24 units of water (6 dwelling units x 4 units of water each).
Tier Thresholds
Tiers
Units
Tier 1
4 hcf
Tier 2
11 hcf
Tier3
12+ hcf
(Res. 05-04 § 9.0; Res. 07-19; Ord. 79 § 3 (Exh. A), 2009; amended by district 10/2011; Ord. 89 § 2 (Exh. A), 2020; Ord. 90 § 2 (Exh. A), 2024)
Drought rates allow the district to recover fixed costs when customers curtail water use during a drought. The percent reduction in water demand during each water shortage emergency stage is defined in the district's water shortage contingency plan, approved by the board as a part of the 2020 Urban Water Management Plan and this code.
Volumetric Rate Increase by Stage of Shortage
Stages of Shortage
Description
Volumetric Rate Increase
Stage 1
Water Alert
7%
Stage 2
Moderate Water Shortage
15%
Stage 3
Severe Water Shortage
27%
Stage 4
Critical Water Shortage
43%
Stage 5
Water Shortage Crisis
68%
Stage 6
Emergency Water Shortage
100%
The board would adopt the drought rates separately from any other type of rate increase. For the duration of the rate proposal period (five years), the board will have the ability to adopt drought rates by increasing the then-current commodity rate without having to reissue the Proposition 218 notice if it provides the percentage increases in the public notice.
(Ord. 90 § 2 (Exh. A), 2024)
The cost for replacement of broken locks will be charged at $20.00 plus cost of lock.
(Res. 05-04 § 13.0; Res. 10-01 Exh. A)
A no-show charge for 90-4 and HWAP appointments will be billed at $20.00 for a scheduled appointment which is not kept or cancelled in advance by the customer or a representative.
(Res. 05-04 § 14.0; Res. 10-01 Exh. A)
This surcharge to recover property tax revenues taken from the district by the state of California to balance its budget is eliminated effective December 1, 2007.
(Res. 05-04 § 15.0; Res. 07-19)
The charge for a new service connection shall be the actual cost of service installation. An estimate of the installation cost will be provided to the applicant prior to installing the service.
(Res. 05-04 § 16.0)
This charge shall be as follows:
Meter Size
Previous
Amended
5/8-inch
$7,668
$5,418
1-inch
19,170
10,836
1-1/2-inch
38,340
16,254
2-inch
61,344
27,090
3-inch
122,688
59,598
4-inch
191,700
92,106
6-inch
383,400
178,794
This acquisition of service charge must be paid prior to any water service connection and shall be in addition to all other charges imposed by the district.
(Res. 05-04 § 17; Res. 07-11; Res. 10-06; Res. 10-18)
A fee of $40.00 is charged to the requestor of a standard will serve letter on single lots for a single service. Fees for will serve requests on land requiring in-depth review by district staff will be charged according to the actual cost to the district.
(Res. 10-01 Exh. A; Res. 24-20, 2024)
This charge shall be as follows:
A. 
Minor Subdivision. As defined in the state Map Act (not to exceed five lots or parcels): $100.00.
B. 
Major Subdivision. Greater than five lots or parcels: $250.00 deposit towards actual costs. Any additional actual costs must be paid prior to issuance of the will serve letter.
(Res. 05-04 § 19.0; Res. 24-20, 2024)
The charge shall be the actual cost to perform the inspection. A deposit equal to two percent of the construction costs, but not less than $500.00, shall be received by the district prior to performing the inspection.
(Res. 05-04 § 20.0)
An annexation fee of $787.00 per acre shall be collected by the district for property to be annexed into its service boundaries upon the property owners' request.
(Res. 05-04 § 22.0)
A charge of $20.00 will be added to the customer's account when district personnel are required to read a bulk meter in the field.
(Res. 05-04 § 24.0; Res. 10-01 Exh. A)
Recreational irrigation accounts maintaining a separate irrigation meter and account in compliance with Ordinance 72, and having established an approved budget with the Hi-Desert Water District, the monthly irrigation water consumption rate shall be:
A. 
Base rate: $5.42.
B. 
Penalty rate: Tier 4.
(Res. 05-04 § 26.0; Ord. 78 §§ 3, 4, 2008; Ord. 79, 2009; Res. 11-14)
A fee of $0.25 for the first copy and $0.10 for each additional copy shall be charged upon a request to obtain a copy or copies of public records from the district.
(Res. 05-04 § 27.0)
All services provided by the district not listed in Exhibit A attached to the resolution codified in this section shall be charged at the actual cost of performing the service.
(Res. 05-04 § 28.0; Res. 10-01; Res. 10-06)
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this chapter is for any reason said to be unconstitutional or invalid, such section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter.
(Res. 05-04 § 29.0; Res. 10-01; Res. 10-06; Res. 10-18)
A. 
A fee of $2.95 will be assessed per transaction to a customer who pays by credit card via automated phone system.
B. 
A fee of $1.95 will be assessed to the customer per credit card transaction.
(Res. 10-01 Exh. A; Res. 24-06; Res. 24-20, 2024)
A fee of $200.00 will be charged prior to conducting the fire flow test to recover the cost the district incurs to conduct the fire flow test and prepare the fire flow letter. Tests for static pressure will be charged $85.00. The fee must be collected in full before a fire flow letter will be issued.
(Res. 10-01 Exh. A; Res. 24-20, 2024)
A fee of the actual cost to the district shall be charged to review landscape plans and perform on-site pre- and post- inspections to ensure compliance with the landscape ordinance. A deposit of $300.00 or the estimated cost of the landscape plan review, whichever is greater, shall be paid in advance of work being completed.
(Res. 10-01 Exh. A; Res. 11-20)
A fee of three months of the annual average usage, or a minimum of $500.00 plus additional costs as authorized by HDWDC § 6.15.350 will be assessed to a customer who takes water consumption without approval from the district.
(Res. 10-01 Exh. A; Res. 24-20, 2024)
The district shall recover the actual cost of any labor and materials charges resulting from a customer's request for extraordinary services from the district. A deposit will be required prior to work performance for the estimated total cost of the work.
(Res. 10-01 Exh. A)