Aqua Texas has proposed a rate hike for water and wastewater services for Wimberley and Woodcreek customers. The corporation wants to charge up to $20.81 for water customers and $32.48 for wastewater customers, which could add up to a total base rate of more than $50, regardless of how much water and wastewater services are used each month.
On Wednesday, August 7, Aqua Texas went before two administrative law judges at the State Office of Administrative Hearings asking for the increase. The proposal has encountered push back from residents unhappy with the proposal, as well as the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association. The Watershed Association has criticized Aqua Texas for “over-pumping water, destroying water systems and not following state and local laws.” In 2022, Aqua Texas was fined nearly half a million dollars for over-pumping its water allotment, and the association has challenged the district’s actions in federal court.
Aqua Texas argues that it has grounds for the increase to pay for capital improvements. “Everything related to that Austin water system is an eligible plan if its expenditure is a capital project,” said Aqua Texas rates and planning manager, Rasool Ahmadibeni, during the hearing. Attorney Geoff Kirshbaum, who represents Aqua Texas added, “We followed every letter of the law, of the rule, of the order.”
On August 8, in a statement to KVUE News, Aqua Texas wrote, “Aqua Texas filed for a System Im- provement Charge increase with the Public Utility Commission of Texas in October of 2023 for our systems across the state. The System Improvement Charge allows Aqua to recoup some of the money spent on proactively improving infrastructure in Texas communities. Between January 1, 2022 and July 31, 2023, Aqua invested more than $85 million into water and wastewater systems across Texas in order to continue providing clean, safe, and reliable services to our customers.”
In July, the Watershed Association, the Woodcreek Property Owners Association and the Trinity Edwards Springs Protection Association filed joint testimony of expert witness Bill Stannard, Professional Engineer. Following an extensive review of the information that Aqua submitted, Stannard found deficiencies and errors in Aqua’s application for the increase. According to Stannard’s analysis, Aqua has included numerous submissions of expenditures that are not applicable as justification for their proposed rate hike.
Attorney Lauren Ice, who represents the Watershed Association said, “Aqua has not met its burden of proof to show it is entitled to this rate increase. There is an enormous potential to set a precedent here, a precedent that will impact the daily lives of thousands of Texans in an important and fundamental way.”
The Office of the Public Utility Counsel, the agency responsible for representing, protecting, and promoting consumer interests, also filed its expert testimony, which asserted the application for a rate hike should be rejected.
