LCRA press release: water rate proposal

Press release from LCRA:
March 28, 2014

LCRA staff has revised an earlier proposal to change the rates LCRA charges firm and interruptible customers for raw water.

In January, LCRA staff presented its initial rate proposal to the LCRA Board of Directors. Since then, members of the LCRA staff have spent many hours talking with customers and the public throughout the basin to collect feedback. LCRA staff has revised its preliminary rate proposal for the Board's consideration as a direct result of that information-gathering process. Revisions to the proposal will enable LCRA to recover costs while mitigating future rate impacts to its customers.

LCRA has long been committed to being a responsible steward of the river and the basin's natural resources. LCRA is determined to responsibly manage the water of the lower Colorado River from the uppermost tributaries that feed the Highland Lakes down to Matagorda Bay.

Managing the basin's water system comes with financial costs, known as river management costs. LCRA is committed to allocating these costs among firm and interruptible customers in a fair and equitable way. After evaluating feedback from customers and the public across the basin, LCRA is proposing to allocate river management costs among firm and interruptible customers based on the amount of water they use.

LCRA also recognizes that proposed rates need to consider key factors, including:

LCRA has no taxing ability and must rely on rates to cover its costs.
Interruptible water can be, and has been, curtailed in times of severe drought. River management costs continue during these times, and LCRA must recover those costs.
LCRA needs to work toward rates that fully recover the costs of providing interruptible water. These costs are currently under-recovered.
After considering these factors and input from customers and the public, LCRA staff is proposing a change in water rates that differs from the January proposal. The revised proposal:

Allocates river management costs based on the amount of water used instead of a share of committed firm supply.
No longer includes costs of developing new water supply.
Includes updated cost information that has been developed since January.
Interruptible Water Rate Proposal
The revised rate proposal for interruptible water takes a significant step toward achieving full cost recovery.

The proposal calls for the new rates for Lakeside and Gulf Coast interruptible supply to be effective January 2015, with a goal to raise rates to reach full cost recovery over time. New rates for the Garwood Irrigation Division could be approved for 2014 as part of a separate rate process.

 All rates are per acre-foot of water. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover an acre with one foot of water, or 325,851 gallons.

*As part of a separate rate process, LCRA is working on rates for 2014 that may be retroactively applied to Garwood and other irrigation customers that use LCRA groundwater and run-of-river water, or make use of LCRA canals to transport their own groundwater.

Press release from LCRA:
March 28, 2014

LCRA staff has revised an earlier proposal to change the rates LCRA charges firm and interruptible customers for raw water.

In January, LCRA staff presented its initial rate proposal to the LCRA Board of Directors. Since then, members of the LCRA staff have spent many hours talking with customers and the public throughout the basin to collect feedback. LCRA staff has revised its preliminary rate proposal for the Board's consideration as a direct result of that information-gathering process. Revisions to the proposal will enable LCRA to recover costs while mitigating future rate impacts to its customers.

LCRA has long been committed to being a responsible steward of the river and the basin's natural resources. LCRA is determined to responsibly manage the water of the lower Colorado River from the uppermost tributaries that feed the Highland Lakes down to Matagorda Bay.

Managing the basin's water system comes with financial costs, known as river management costs. LCRA is committed to allocating these costs among firm and interruptible customers in a fair and equitable way. After evaluating feedback from customers and the public across the basin, LCRA is proposing to allocate river management costs among firm and interruptible customers based on the amount of water they use.

LCRA also recognizes that proposed rates need to consider key factors, including:

LCRA has no taxing ability and must rely on rates to cover its costs.
Interruptible water can be, and has been, curtailed in times of severe drought. River management costs continue during these times, and LCRA must recover those costs.
LCRA needs to work toward rates that fully recover the costs of providing interruptible water. These costs are currently under-recovered.
After considering these factors and input from customers and the public, LCRA staff is proposing a change in water rates that differs from the January proposal. The revised proposal:

Allocates river management costs based on the amount of water used instead of a share of committed firm supply.
No longer includes costs of developing new water supply.
Includes updated cost information that has been developed since January.
Interruptible Water Rate Proposal
The revised rate proposal for interruptible water takes a significant step toward achieving full cost recovery.

The proposal calls for the new rates for Lakeside and Gulf Coast interruptible supply to be effective January 2015, with a goal to raise rates to reach full cost recovery over time. New rates for the Garwood Irrigation Division could be approved for 2014 as part of a separate rate process.

 All rates are per acre-foot of water. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover an acre with one foot of water, or 325,851 gallons.

*As part of a separate rate process, LCRA is working on rates for 2014 that may be retroactively applied to Garwood and other irrigation customers that use LCRA groundwater and run-of-river water, or make use of LCRA canals to transport their own groundwater.

Join Us!

Open House and Mixer starting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 27, at the ARC and Texana Center.

Use us!

Our website, whartontexas.com, serves as the virtual front door to our community. It serves as the gateway for travel information, plus, how to do business here, both for residents and out-of-towners. And it is much more.

Whartontexas.com, too, offers many services to chamber members.

Members can get tickets to chamber events like a luncheon or the annual banquet.

They can also update information that potential customers see about their business or organization on line.

And the general public — chamber members or not — can post items on our community calendar. Our calendar is the clearinghouse for scheduling events and finding out what’s going on in Wharton.

Using our website for these things is easy. But if you need help, just call us at the chamber office, 979-532-1862.

Also, find us on Facebook, where we post lots of information and activities, at Wharton, Texas Chamber of Commerce. And find our blog at whartonchamber.blogspot.com.

We are here for you. Virtually, too. 

Interested in exporting your products oversees?

Interested in exporting your products oversees?

Felipe Guzman, general manager of Prime Eco Group Inc., invites you to a meeting to learn more about exporting.

Present will be a director and senior international trade specialist with the U.S. Commercial Services Office.

The meeting will be from 10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Thursday, March 27, at the Wharton Economic Development Corp., 1944 N. Fulton St.

This is good opportunity for existing exporters and future exporters in Wharton to meet the people that drive local, state and national policies as well as educational forums to export.

Also attending will be a representative from the District Export Council.  

Call 979-532-0999 for more information.

Also check out http://export.gov/texas/houston/).

Thinking of spring

Spring is in the air. Well, people are thinking about spring.

One reason is something brand new. The Wharton County Backyard Farm Tour. It will be Saturday, April 26 — the same day that the Wharton County Farmers Market starts up.

Seven homes will be opened up where you can view how people grow food here, from chickens to vegetables. More on this later.  Thank you Stephanie Kovicka et al.

Meanwhile, the Wharton Beautification Commission is planning the annual citywide cleanup, Spring Sweep on Saturday, April 5.

And the commission is planning much more, wanting to help beautify the city entrances, the downtown planters, and enhancements at the Santa Fe Trail. Dr. Mystan Gurkin is chair.

There’s also talk of a new community garden for Wharton.

What’s it take? People who care. People who want to make a difference. People working to make a difference. What a wonderful thing. Spring must be in the air.

Hurry! Last day to reserve tickets or tables is Friday, March 14, for this year's Wharton Chamber of Commerce Banquet. The banquet will be Thursday, March 20. Call 532-1862.

We are real proud of our Chamber Ambassador program.
Our ambassadors are on the font line, promoting the Chamber  and promoting prosperity in our community.
They are the folks who put on the annual Membership Appreciation Fish Fry and co-host our Business Connection Mixers.
Makyla Monroe of Wied Realty is the Ambassadors Chair and she does a great job! The ambassadors meet at noon the first Thursday of every month at Milam Street Coffee. If you would like to be part of it.
The Ambassadors also are responsible for gathering items and running the Silent Auction at our Chamber Banquet.
We are all very busy greeting ready for our annual banquet on Thursday, March 20. Sponsorships are still available, as well individual tickets. Give us a shout.
Ambassador membership is open to all Chamber members. There is no fee to be an Ambassador.
We are writing this Thursday afternoon. We are ready for pancakes.
We are also excited about the Friday, March 14, Java Jam benefit for Molly Coffman. We love Molly.

Very quietly, it seems, our Facebook Page — Wharton, Texas Chamber of Commerce — has jumped over another record. More than 2,000 likes!