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water and sewer enterprise funds to implement necessary water distribution system <br /> improvements in the near-term. By State law, delivered water is charged at the cost of <br /> service so no profit is made by the enterprise; any revenues not expended at the end of <br /> the fiscal year are applied to future years' costs. <br /> BACKGROUND <br /> The City is a water retailer that operates and maintains a water distribution system to <br /> deliver water to city residences and businesses for domestic and irrigation uses and <br /> other uses such as firefighting. Alameda County's Zone 7 Water Agency is the Tri- <br /> Valley's water wholesaler that procures water from the state and produces water from <br /> its regional wells, which it sells to Pleasanton and other Tri-Valley water retailers for <br /> distribution. Pleasanton is a unique retailer in that in addition to buying water from Zone <br /> 7, it also has an annual groundwater pumping quota of 3,500-acre feet from its own <br /> local wells. In prior years, 3,500-acre feet is approximately 20-25 percent of all water <br /> delivered within Pleasanton. <br /> The City does not own or operate a wastewater treatment plant. A majority of the City's <br /> wastewater is treated by Dublin San Ramon Services District (DSRSD), with the Ruby <br /> Hill Project Area treated by City of Livermore. The current average dry weather flow <br /> (ADWF) from the City to DSRSD is approximately 6.3 million gallons per day (mgd). A <br /> small portion of the City's wastewater flows, which originate from Ruby Hill, are <br /> conveyed to the City of Livermore water reclamation plant. The flow from Ruby Hill to <br /> the City of Livermore's plant is approximately 0.25 mgd ADWF. Once the City's sewer is <br /> secondarily treated either at the facilities at DSRSD or the City of Livermore, the treated <br /> sewage is stored and transported through the facilities owned and operated by the <br /> Livermore Amador Valley Wastewater Management Agency (LAVWMA) to the East Bay <br /> Discharge Authority (EBDA) outfall line into the outer Bay, if not used for recycled water. <br /> Previous Rate Studies <br /> In 2010, the City approved a combined water and sewer rate increase of 7.27%, which <br /> was followed by annual increases in water and sewer rates based on inflation as <br /> defined by the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for five years. In 2015 the City <br /> approved water and sewer rates to be annually increased by the change in CPI for five <br /> years —this approach did not account for growth in the community (new development <br /> from 2015 to 2020 whereby the City's population grew by approximately 5,000 or 6.6 <br /> percent) or the ability to address necessary but not funded system improvements. The <br /> planned 2019 rate study was delayed due to COVID-19, after which the rate study was <br /> put on hold when the PFAS treatment and well rehabilitation project was paused to <br /> explore water supply alternatives, such that there were no water and sewer rate <br /> increases for the City for three years (2021, 2022 and 2023). <br /> Financial Position of Water Enterprise Fund <br /> The City is responsible for ensuring that the water and sewer enterprises remain fiscally <br /> solvent and that appropriate reserves are in place to fund system maintenance, repair, <br /> and replacement obligations. Currently, funding for the water distribution system is <br /> inadequate which has necessitated the use of reserves to both operate the system and <br /> make necessary infrastructure improvements to have the pressure and capacity to <br /> Page 2 of 17 <br />