MVWD board approves new infrastructure charge
Moapa Valley residents will begin seeing a new line item on their water bills next month. Under the category of “Infrastructure Management Service Charge,” the new fee is being employed to help pay for two essential infrastructure projects that will serve Moapa Valley Water District (MVWD) ratepayers well into the future.
The MVWD Board of Directors approved the $10/month service charge at a meeting held on October 10. The charge goes into effect in November.
At the meeting, MVWD General Manager Joe Davis reviewed the background of the item which has been under consideration for most of this year.
“We have had quite a few public meetings that have led up to this final decision,” Davis said.
Discussion had begun in March when Joe Phillips of Sunrise Engineering had reported to the board and identified the two infrastructure projects as high priority for the district, Davis said.
The first of these projects was the drilling of a new production well at the district’s Arrow Canyon facility. Davis explained that the new Arrow Canyon #3 well would provide redundancy to existing infrastructure that is aging.
“Our main production well, Arrow Canyon #1, was drilled in the early 1990s and is approaching the end of its life cycle,” Davis said. “So a new well there would give us back up if ever #1 had to go out of service.”
The second project was the construction of a new 3.1 million gallon storage tank in the Muddy River Narrows, a crucial spot between Moapa and Logandale. The proposed Narrows Tank would also provide redundancy to the MVWD system, Davis said.
“If we have a major break in the main line between the upper and lower valleys, the new tank would give us enough storage to work on the line and still supply our ratepayers with water,” Davis said. “It would just provide us that much more assurance.”
Understanding the need for these two projects, the district staff began seeking state funding for the projects earlier this year. By August, the district had officially received a $12.5 million state loan. A $2.5 million portion of that amount qualified for principal forgiveness, Davis said. That would leave a $10 million loan with a very favorable 1 percent interest rate.
“It isn’t very often that you see 1 percent money come your way,” Davis said. “It is kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity for us.”
Over the summer, the board also discussed the need to adjust rates in order to make payments on the 30 year loan. Instead of an increase in water usage rates, the board opted to establish a line item specifically for paying off the debt. Unlike a general rate increase, this item could then be retired once the debt is paid off, Davis said.
In accordance with state law, the district sent out a Business Impact Statement to all local businesses to solicit feedback on the proposed new fee.
“We reviewed that Impact Statement at our last board meeting and we reported that we had received no comments or feedback from it,” Davis said. “So staff is recommending that we move forward with the $10 infrastructure fee.”
With very little additional discussion from the board, Board Member Lindsey Dalley made a motion to adopt the new Infrastructure Management Service Fee. The vote was unanimous to accept the motion.