After past members kicked the can down the road twice Antioch Council approves water rate increases of 45-93% on 4-1 vote
Over next 3 years; begin May 1st; still lowest in the area
Will help pay off loan for desal plant; Torres-Walker opposes even though she voted to approve $91 million contract for its construction; but then-City Manager Ron Bernal ensured the council that it would not result in any rate hikes or cause any unforeseen costs in the future.
By Allen D. Payton
After only hearing from four members of the public who spoke, including one who supported the increases, and receiving 11 written protest letter responses including 10 people against, the Antioch City Council, during their meeting on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, approved increases in water rates over the next three years on a 4-1 vote. The rate hikes will range from 45 to 93 percent. District 1 Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker was the lone vote against. The vote also keeps in place the current tiered rate structure.
It will be the first water rate increase in the city since 2019. The initial rate increases will begin May 1, 2025. As previously reported, the last time the Council considered raising water rates was Nov. 12, 2024. With then-District 2 Councilman Mike Barbanica absent due to a family medical emergency, the remaining four members split 2-1-1 on the motion to increase rates and continue the current tiered rate structure. District 1 Councilwoman Torres-Walker voted to abstain and then-Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe voting against. The structure means those residential customers who use more water pay a higher per gallon rate, effectively subsidizing the rates for those who use less water each month. Following the vote, Hernandez-Thorpe said, “If the new council wants to take this up, they can take it up.”
That’s what they did and even with the increases, a comparison survey shows Antioch will still have the lowest water rates in the area.
Under Item 5 on their regular meeting agenda, the Council held a public hearing to consider annual water rate increases through July 1, 2028, keeping the current tiered structure. According to the City staff report, the “adjustments will ensure adequate Water Enterprise funds for the City’s projected operations, capital expenditures and debt service coverage. Water rates have not been increased for almost five years, yet operating costs have continued to incrementally, and at times, substantially, increased each year for personnel, utilities, water purchase costs from Contra Costa Water District (when the City cannot pump from the river) and other maintenance costs of the City’s Water Treatment Plant.”
The City has pre-1914 rights to water from the river. But due to upstream freshwater diversion, the saltwater intrusion into the Delta affects Antioch’s intake pumps which are at the lowest elevation on the river. During summer months the salinity of the river water is at its highest. Thus, the need for the new brackish water desalination plant.
Part of Increase to Cover Loan Payments for Desalination Plant
In addition, the rate increase will cover “personnel and maintenance costs to operate” the new Brackish Water Facility which will be online this year. “The City is required to maintain a 1.20 debt service coverage ratio, meaning that net revenues…of the Water Fund each fiscal year must be 1.2 times the annual debt service for that given year. As part of the loan terms…failure to comply with the debt service coverage is considered an ‘Event of Default’…and the SWRCB (State water Resources Control Board) may require: return of (the $50 million state revolving loan) funds…immediately, acceleration of payments due; payment of a higher interest rate; payment of additional payments and further enforce its rights by any judicial proceeding.”
The Non-Single-Family Zone 1 rates will be raised from $4.44 to $6.42 per hundred cubic feet (HCU), a 44.6% increase and Zone IV would increase 82.5% from $4.86 to $8.87.
All eight tiers and zones for Single-Family residential rates will also be affected with Tier 2 Zone I given the lowest increase of 45.6%, from $6.22 to $9.06 per HCU. If approved, Tier 1 Zone IV would experience the greatest rate increase of 93%, from $4.20 to $8.11 per HCU over the three years.
Monthly Meter Service for single-family residential customers will also rise from $24.40 to $35.40, a 45% increase.
Council Questions, Discussion and Vote
During council discussion on the item, District 1 Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker was first to speak saying, “Just for clarification…we need to actually raise this rate to pay off the debt from the loan for the desal plant. So, you projected potential rate increases over time in order to get a loan to do the desal project?”
Public Works Director Scott Buenting responded, “That’s part of it. The water rates and the revenue from the Water Fund will be used to pay back that loan as well as other expenditures within the Water Fund and water department.”
District 3 Councilman Don Freitas asked what it means for the City of Antioch to be a pre-1914 water right holder.
“As pre-1914, our adjudicated water rights do allow us to take water from the river,” Buenting explained. “The only thing that prevents the amount of water that we can take is our permit ability. So, we can take water from the river a lot more than 16 million gallons that we do currently. However, that’s what we’re permitted with with the fish screens we have in place that allow us to draw river water into our system. So, right now, that’s the limiting factor is the fish screens.”
“So, it’s not unlimited. It is restricted,” Freitas responded.
“It is restricted by permitting, yes,” the Public Works Director responded.
“But because we can do that, it has a very significant impact which lowers overall water rates,” Freitas stated. “Because when we take water from the river, we don’t have to buy water from Contra Costa Water District, correct?”
“Yes. That’s true,” Buenting responded. “You still have to pump the water. You still have the electricity and the infrastructure necessary to get the water from the river to our water treatment plant. But the cost of the water we’re not purchasing from Contra Costa Water District. That’s part of our 1914 rights.”
The councilman then asked for the cost of purchase one acre-foot of water from CCWD. “It’s substantial,” he stated. Buenting said, “It is substantial.” But he didn’t know and said he would get that information.
“One of the reasons why Antioch is the second lowest, basically in the Bay Area is because we are a pre-1914 water right and we use that as much as we possibly can to lower water rates,” Freitas added.
“Sure, and that’s currently the condition where we are right now,” Buenting stated. “The river water is fresh enough it can be treated through conventional means. Therefore, we’re not currently purchasing any water from Contra Costa Water District but utilizing our water rights.”
Freitas, a former CCWD Board Member, then spoke about the water from the Los Vaqueros Reservoir.
“One of the purposes was water quality. But also, reliability,” he shared. “California being a semi-arid state we are going to have droughts…and so…CCWD…will actually aid the City of Antioch, not only for human consumption, but for manufacturing, and…agriculture and things of that sort. Correct?”
“We still have a relationship with Contra Costa Water District,” Buenting responded. “We will still continue to purchase water at some rate. We do have capacity at the Randall Bold Water Treatment Plant (in Oakley), also.”
“But I mean, at Los Vaqueros, the salinity is going to be extraordinarily lower than what we can get in a drought period from the river,” Freitas stated. “Which probably means we can’t even pump water out of the river because of the salinity.”
“Yes, depending on how dry it is, how far the salinity moves upstream,” Buenting explained. “Contra Costa Water District’s (pumps) are much further upstream.”
“No one likes rate increases. Absolutely no one,” Freitas stated. “But I have to argue in favor of these…I think the City was remiss in five years of not looking at water rates…and now we’re paying the price for that. Because there is an escalation. As far as I’m concerned, if you do it every year at or below the rate of inflation you’re not losing. You’re actually gaining by keeping up. The City Council made a conscious decision back then not to raise water rates during the pandemic because of the cost implications and I thought it was a good decision back then. But we are paying the price.”
“I don’t think there’s any alternative for us. I’m satisfied with us moving forward because it guarantees it will be a water supply. It will be treated,” he continued. “And with our relationship with CCW both for raw water supply, as well as during the periods of time when there are droughts, and we can take water from Los Vaqueros we will not be so severely impacted.”
“Yes, I know that these water rates will have some negative impacts,” Freitas stated. “But I also know CCWD and the City of Antioch have various conservation programs to help reduce the demand of water inside our homes. Something like 60% or more of treated water is used outside the house for irrigation. If you do like your lawns…then you have to pay to irrigate them and keep them alive.”
“But you have a choice. You have an option. You can change that landscaping,” he concluded. “But as difficult as it is, and it’s unfortunate, I’m ready, Mr. Mayor to move forward and approve the water rates.”
District 4 Councilwoman Monica Wilson then said, “I just want to reiterate it’s hard. It’s not a very favorable decision when you have to raise water rates. And back in 2020 when we had the pandemic this council had to make a very difficult decision. That time we made the conscious decision we can’t raise water rates when people are struggling to just make ends meet. That’s why we went the five years without it.”
“However, here we are, having our own water department, having the brackish water plant…and just to run that water plant, the electricity alone is a huge cost,” she continued. “But we need to raise the water rates because if we don’t…something unfavorable with our debt. That looks unfavorable we’re not keeping up with the costs just to run our own water department.”
“So, it’s a difficult decision, but I am in favor of raising our rates,” Wilson concluded.
Mayor Ron Bernal then asked Buenting, “We do have a minimum take from Contra Costa Water District, correct? Minimum purchase every year. Do you know about what percentage overall of our water that would be?’
“Five hundred acre-feet, I believe. But I don’t know exactly what the percentage is,” the Public Works Director responded.
“Then there’s also limitations on the amount of water, as you mentioned, that we can pump from the river at 16 MGD, correct, 16 million gallons per day?” Bernal asked.
“Yes sir,” Buenting responded.
“And our warm weather uses up to 25 maybe?” the mayor asked.
“Yes sir,” was the response.
“So, in the summer, we cannot take all of our water from the river, correct? It has to be supplemented? Bernal further asked.
“That’s true,” Buenting stated.
“I just want to clarify the fact that…our river is not an unlimited source of water, but it is definitely a large source of our supply and that’s the reason for the brackish water desal project to take full advantage of that in generations to come,” the mayor concluded.
Bernal then reiterated what Freitas said about droughts and mentioned, “Conservation mandates. Antioch would maybe be able to be relieved of that somewhat by virtue of the fact that we do have an alternative source that doesn’t depend upon the runoff from the mountains and things like that. Correct?”
“It is something we’re working with the State on,” Buenting offered.
Torres-Walker Explains Her Opposition to Rate Increase
Torres-Walker had the last word on the matter saying, “Clean drinking water is important to the community, I’m assuming, everybody. I don’t really care how it gets to the faucet as long as it gets to the faucet when I turn the faucet on and it’s drinkable.”
“I also understand that these rates need to increase because the City was super ambitious and went for a loan projected on increasing rates on residents to be able to have a water desal plant that then will produce…good drinking water for the long term, I’m assuming,” she continued. “I also don’t know what it will save the City to have the desal plant any. Because it also sounds like…we’ll need to raise more of the rate to pay for the operations of the desal plant and maintenance moving forward.”
“I heard Councilwoman Wilson say we didn’t raise rates because of the pandemic because people couldn’t afford it, as if people can afford it, now, right?” Torres-Walker stated. “So, it’s not just the pandemic that made this difficult to do. Because…people are still struggling, and the struggle is only going to get realer. So, we’re acting as if people who couldn’t afford it then could afford it now and that’s just not true.”
“So, with all of this information with understanding the City needs to raise water rates to pay off this debt so that our creditors won’t look at us in a negative light, I understand all of that,” she continued. “And I understand there are people who can’t afford it. I’m going to remain a ‘no’ even though I know the votes are here to pass this, tonight.”
However, in addition to her vote to abstain on increasing the water rates last November, during a special meeting on December 18, 2020, in her first month on the council, Torres-Walker helped incur most of the City’s debt for the desal plant when she voted in favor of the $91 million construction contract. That’s out of a total estimated cost of $110 million.
But during that same meeting, as previously reported, in response to then-Councilmember Lori Ogorchock expressing her own concerns and those of residents that the plant will result in tangible rate hikes, then-City Manager Ron Bernal ensured the council that it would not result in any rate hikes. He also stated that the plant would not cause any unforeseen costs in the future.
The Council then approved the water rate increases on a 4-1 vote.
(See the 3:49:15 mark of the council meeting video at www.antiochca.gov/government/city-council-meetings/03-11-25/)
the attachments to this post:
Single Family Monthly Water Rates Survey
Water Fund Projected Operating Expendituress 22-29
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City of Antioch Water Rates Current-2028 Approved
