Date: November 15, 2022 @ 3:00PM

Dear Property Owners and Customers,

Pursuant to the requirements set forth in Article 13D of the California Constitution, we are notifying you that the Kinneloa Irrigation District’s Board of Directors will consider establishing water rates for 2023, as described below, at a public hearing to be held at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 15, 2022.  Information for participating in the meeting will be available by calling the office prior to the meeting and on the District’s website at https://www.kinneloairrigationdistrict.info/board-meetings.

These rates will be applicable for water supplied to all parcels within the District’s boundaries.  The Board will consider oral and written comments from the public at this meeting prior to adopting any change in the District’s rates.  You may submit a written protest to the proposed rates at the address set forth above either prior to or at the public hearing.

Water sales revenue is the primary source of income to the District and this revenue is needed to provide funding for system improvements, preventative maintenance projects, general costs, and operating costs.  Each year, we review our Water Master Plan for the Kinneloa Irrigation District (Revision 4 was adopted July 31, 2018) to determine what projects should be undertaken in the coming years, as well as perform an annual review of operating expenses in preparation of the budget.  That review has demonstrated that the District’s existing water usage rate and daily service charge are not enough to meet the District’s revenue requirements for necessary ongoing operations, capital improvements and debt service, and that additional funding of approximately $100,000 is needed to meet the required revenue.  District management has calculated how much of an increase in the water usage rate and daily service charge would be necessary by using the current average annual water usage within the District and determining the incremental increase needed to produce the additional revenue.

The Water Master Plan for the Kinneloa Irrigation District, which lists the necessary capital improvement projects the District will be undertaking, can be viewed at https://www.kinneloairrigationdistrict.info/files/33cfb5b6a/Master+Plan+Approved+20180731.pdf.  This plan, which was originally developed after the 1993 Kinneloa wildfire, lists projects that improve the District’s ability to store and provide water for firefighting and to maintain water service after other natural disasters, such as earthquakes and windstorms.  Although no public water system is designed for fighting wildfires, the numerous wildfires throughout California every year underscore the important role the District has in providing the firefighting ability to protect your home in a future disaster.  In addition, the plan includes projects to ensure the District continues to provide its customers with safe and healthful drinking water.  The District has completed over $8 million in projects over the past nineteen years and has saved the District’s customers significant debt service costs by self-funding most of the projects through water sales revenue.  In 2017, the Kinneloa Irrigation District constructed a new pipeline to connect two reservoirs to provide additional storage capacity, additional fire protection and operational redundancy in the event of a natural disaster.  This project and the previously completed booster station project were funded with a $2.3 million installment purchase agreement to spread the cost of projects over a 15-year period.  In 2018 and 2021, the District completed two pipeline projects using reserve funds to increase fire flow to offer additional fire protection in the District.  The District will continue to complete other scheduled preventative maintenance and improvement projects using reserve funds set aside for this purpose.  An additional pipeline replacement project to increase fire protection is scheduled to be constructed in the 2022-2023 time period.  If the District has a net operating surplus, the funds are put in a reserve account to be used in future years for projects or to offset the cost to recover from an unexpected emergency or net operating loss.

The District will continue to consider current and potential fire flow requirements, potential impacts of auxiliary dwelling units (ADU's) on the District's water delivery system, the available annual water supply, and options for additional water sources.  The District will also need to replace aging pipelines to maintain the reliability of the water distribution system.

The Board of Directors of the Kinneloa Irrigation District approved the budget for the calendar year of 2023 at its special meeting on September 29, 2022, subject to further discussion and approval of water rates for 2023 at the public hearing and board meeting, in full compliance with the California Constitution’s requirements.  At that meeting on September 29, 2022, the Board also proposed an increase in the District’s water usage (commodity) charge from $4.70 to $4.98 per unit (one unit equals 100 cubic feet or 748 gallons) and an increase in the District’s fixed daily service charge from $2.34 to $2.48.  The proposed rate increases for 2023 are necessary to meet the projected revenue, capital improvement and debt service requirements of the 2023 budget.

Your billing and usage history are available online by registering your account at the District’s Internet site at https://www.kinneloairrigationdistrict.info or by mail upon request.  The effect of this proposed rate increase on your monthly water bill can be offset by continuing your conservation efforts, by converting your outdoor irrigation and landscaping to California-friendly plants and by applying at https://www.socalwatersmart.com for rebates on appliances, weather-based irrigation controllers and other water saving devices.

Your Board of Directors who are also customers of the District is committed to keeping your water rates as low as possible and still provide a safe and reliable water supply and a superior emergency response capability.  This minimal increase is consistent with those goals.

Sincerely,

Kinneloa Irrigation District Board of Directors

Kinneloa Irrigation District • 1999 Kinclair Drive, Pasadena, California 91107-1017

Phone (626) 797-6295 • Fax (626) 794-5552 • E-mail: customerservice@kinneloairrigationdistrict.info

https://www.kinneloairrigationdistrict.info