Long-term water agreement reached between Western Municipal Water District and City of Riverside

The Riverside City Council approved a long-term water agreement between Western Municipal Water District (WMWD) and Riverside Public Utilities (RPU) last week for the benefit of customers of both water providers. The City of Riverside, has a surplus amount to the projected yearly water demand of their customers’ needs for the next 10 years. The new agreement calls for WMWD to purchase the city’s “surplus water” and to also pay for the use of Riverside’s system and energy costs to transport the water to WMWD’s service area.

Riverside will be selling a minimum of 2,000 acre-feet per year of its surplus water to WMWD, equating to roughly 10 percent of Western’s retail water demand. The purchase price for Riverside’s surplus water is less expensive than Western’s primary source of supply. WMWD has been importing water from Northern California and the Bay-Delta via the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Western’s estimated savings for the purchase of these local supplies is $4.6 million over the next 10 years; the revenue gained by the City of Riverside from the sale of the surplus water is $4.6 million. Western’s payment for use of Riverside’s system and for energy will also provide the City with an additional $12.4 million in estimated revenue.

Rusty Bailey, Riverside’s Mayor, summed up the agreement saying, “It’s all about public agencies working together for the benefit of the region’s water customers – residents and businesses alike.”

Because the city of Riverside has an annual average water right in the San Bernardino Basin Area (SBBA) that is surplus to the projected yearly water demand of their customers’ needs for the next 10 years, the agreement also permits Western to use the Riverside system at times when capacity is available for the next 20 years. Western will coordinate with Riverside to move water supplies secured by Western (other than Riverside’s surplus water) from the SBBA. WMWD will pay Riverside up to approximately $83 million to move approximately 5,000 acre-feet of water per year over the life of the 20-year agreement. The new arrangement allows WMWD to receive additional water at a lower cost than imported supplies thereby relieving some of the potential upward rates pressure from the rising cost of imported water.

“Securing local water at a lower cost is beneficial to our customers; it’s something Western has worked diligently toward. Partnering with Riverside on a long-term basis to expand our water supply portfolio is crucial,” said John Rossi, Western’s general manager, adding, “Our agencies have a history of working together to find solutions to meet the region’s water needs.”

The boards of both water providers had previously approved the new agreement prior to its presentation to the Riverside City Council’s meeting. The WMWD Board of Directors approved the agreement on April 19; RPU’s Board of Directors approved it on April 24. As part of the agreement WMWD and RPU have created the www.RiversideWaterPartnership.com website to provide information to their mutual customers. The website provides details about the partnership including projects, water efficiency and history.

RPU’s General Manager, Girish Balachandran, explained his agency’s perspective. “Riverside Public Utilities has a keen interest in doing what’s right to benefit our community. Whether it’s partnering in water supply projects, cohesive communication to help our customers save water, or selling our surplus supply, the goal is to help our customers and keep rates as low as possible.”