Updated water connection fees in Oakley, Bethel Island, Knightsen and surrounding communities in far eastern Contra Costa County are scheduled for adoption on Aug. 26, 2020. Under the proposed rate changes, the Diablo Water District’s Facilities Reserve Charge, or FRC, will drop in the West of Jersey Island Road zone but increase roughly $2,000 per ⅝-inch meter in its remaining three zones. The changes to the base Facilities Reserve Charge are attributed to the district’s 2020 update of its facilities plan, which included the elimination of a reservoir in one zone but resulted in overall cost increases for facilities upgrades throughout the district. Specifically, the rate for West of Jersey Island Road will drop 5 percent from $8,248 per ⅝-inch meter to $7,880, or $368. The rate for East of Jersey Island Road increases 16 percent from $10,864 per ⅝-inch meter to $12,911, or $2,047. In the Bethel Island and Delta Coves zones, the rate rises 36 percent from $5,920 per ⅝-inch meter to $8,034, or $2,114. The Diablo Water District lowered its base FRC in 2011 in an effort to help revitalize the region’s development landscape during the recession. If the district’s board adopts the recommended rates later this month, the FRC in the two Jersey Island Road zones will remain lower than the pre-2011 fees while the Bethel Island and Delta Coves FRCs will surpass them. Click HERE to view the district’s fee update presentation in June 2020. The district obtains, treats and supplies water for about 42,000 people and the parks, schools and businesses throughout a 21-square-mile area consisting of Oakley, Cypress Corridor and Hotchkis Tract, as well as Summer Lakes, and portions of Bethel Island and Knightsen. For questions or comments, contact BIA’s Lisa Vorderbrueggen at 925-348-1956 or lvorderbrueggen@biabayarea.org.
