When I heard the City of Calistoga was hosting an open house about water and wastewater rates, I knew I had to be a part of it. I was baited to attend by flyers that painted the town and flaunted talking points, including: rates that are fair, equitable and aligned with community values and conservation. Plus, continued financial viability of city utilities, and the most foreshadowing of the lot—ensuring rates are sufficient to enable critical maintenance. Code speak for: time to raise the rates.
The event drew more than 60 residents and grew with intensity as the two-hour meeting waged on. To add a little backstory to the fire pit, the last time Calistoga did a rate study, it resulted in substantial increases that amounted to incremental hikes spread over five years that would leave residents with a 50% increase in the end. Yes, you read that right. So why, attendees asked, would the threat of more increases come knocking on our overpriced doors right after we reached the final stage of the last rate increase?
As the city tells it, escalating operations and maintenance costs to an aging water system is to blame along with inflation, climate change and the cost of chlorine, which was reported to have tripled in the last couple of years. This point is perhaps the biggest rub, given the city sent multiple notifications that Calistoga water failed state drinking water standards which stipulate a maximum contaminant level for Haloacetic acids (HAAs) at 60 micrograms per liter (ug/L). Calistoga has blown the standard out of the “water” repeatedly, most recently averaging over 97 ug/L. To geek out and for further context, HAAs are a common by-product of drinking-water chlorination. My laywoman’s interpretation of all the data and double talk: water costs are rising, in part, due to the cost of chlorine, but our swampy (in taste and smell) H20 is failing drinkability standards due to too much chlorine?
In a written follow-up to the meeting, the city addressed questions from the community about rates. The missive explained that while smaller communities like Yountville have lower rates (e.g. $20 less for wastewater), it’s attributed to the fact that the state owns, operates and maintains the infrastructure (for almost half of its city limit region) whereas Calistoga and St. Helena, which have comparable rates, own and maintain their infrastructure. Not that any of this mitigates the blow to the checkbook.
Despite much objection during the meeting, the rate study, which is being conducted by an independent company, Raftelis Inc., kicked off in October with a phased plan that includes data collection, rate analysis, financial planning and customer impacts. The most important takeaway from the meeting came with a distillation of Prop. 218 by the city, who explained that any parcel connected to a utility system (attention homeowners) must be given notification of proposed rate changes, the reason for said increases and the property owners’ right to protest. So, mark your calendars folks. Once the proposed rate changes are presented in a public meeting, protests from property owners (only one per parcel) can be submitted for no less than 45 days leading up to the final public hearing. The protests must be in writing, via snail mail, or dropped off in person (email, fax and text won’t fly). If a 51% majority of parcel owners protest, the rates cannot be increased according to Prop. 218. The city anticipates adopting new rates in spring of 2023 and implementing the hike by July 1. So, get those pens and pencils armed and ready to write.
A soak
I’m fairly certain that for every word of my next water-related rant, there will be just as many people who are incensed by my attitude, but I’ll charge onward, because some sentiments are worth the backlash. Every year at this time, I book a spa day, my atta girl for another year of juggling life, work and tween twins. I’m rarely shocked thanks to the latter, however, this year I was, when the time came to book my day of pampering.
Over the years I’ve come to terms with (sort of) the fact that the most basic massage costs over $200. I’ve also accepted (begrudgingly) the resort fees that are often tacked on to said treatments. But after calling three different Calistoga resorts, I learned that if I wanted to soak in the mineral pools afterward, a perk that was always part of the “package,” it would cost $50, on top of the treatment fee. When I asked why, I heard everything from the drought, COVID, staffing challenges and the price of water in these parts. So, as residents we pay the astronomical price for overly chlorinated water, and reap no benefits like mineral pool perks. There is one exception, the Calistoga Motor Lodge, which does not charge extra for their pools and also offers a locals’ discount.
I never did book that spa appointment, be it pride or principal. So, as my back creaks this way and that, I’ll close out the year in the same way I ended my June column where I riffed on the sky-high prices for wines by the glass. Where do we go from here? Five years from now can we expect $1,000 water bills and spa treatments? Will our roadways fall even further into the gutter because of increased commuter traffic for a workforce pool that can no longer afford to live here? At what point will we stop blaming COVID, drought and the faltering economy for the exorbitant costs associated with living here, and just call it like it is—Napa has gotten a little too full of itself at the expense of the people who live here.
