Mt. View Sanitary District is committed to protecting the public health and environment, in a safe and reliable manner, at a reasonable cost. The District is required to routinely analyze Sewer Service Charges (SSCs), which are intended to recover revenues sufficient to adequately fund sewer utility operations, maintenance, and capital replacement expenditures, meet debt service obligations, keep rates as competitive as possible and maintain a prudent level of reserves. This analysis is conducted through rate and affordability studies whose findings help guide the decisions of the District’s Board of Directors and fulfill the requirements found in the Revenue Program Guidelines published by the California Environmental Protection Agency’s State Water Resource Control Board from its Policy for Implementing the State Revolving Fund for Construction of Wastewater Treatment Facilities.

Sewer rate studies classically have three categories of technical analysis – the development of revenue required from rates, the allocation of costs among functional cost categories (cost-of-service analysis) and the design of a rate structure. The District conducted sewer rate studies in 2017 and in 2020. These studies evaluated customer wastewater characteristics and requirements along with District operations and the recommendations from these analyses helped to formulate the current rate structure.

An affordability study is measured by the percentage of median household income (MHI) spent annually on utility (water and wastewater) services. A study completed in 2020 in the Mt. View Sanitary District service area concluded that the monthly water and wastewater utility bills are less than the affordability threshold.

In February 2022, the District contracted with Municipal Financial Services to evaluate sewer service charges and recommend a revised schedule of Sewer Service Charges (SSCs) through fiscal year 2027. This rate study is currently under review by the District’s Board of Directors, who will make a determination in the coming months.