Groundwater Advisory Committee May 2015 - Water Rates & Allocations

1. Water Rates and Allocations in
Southern New Jersey
Kevin Whitney, Project Analyst
ACUA

2. Water Allocations
• Update to the Ground Water Master Plan, delayed release
– State hearing held on April 22, 2015 – Earth Day
– 20 years since the last revision
– Outcome: Sen. Gordon to issue a “strongly worded request”
to the DEP for the release of the Master Plan, or a working
draft

3. 0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
GPY(Millions)
Atlantic County Water Allocations,
information provided by the NJDEP

5. Notes from the Master Plan hearing:
• Speakers included members of the Sierra Club, NJ Water
Supply Advisory Council, doctor from Rutgers University,
and others concerned for the state
• 1996 Master Plan, currently being used
– Lists 16 pristine streams in the state – there is now one
– Bergen County was listed as a “warning area” for stressing the
aquifer volume – development has continued in this area,
encroaching water resource
– Predicts deficits in Highlands, Toms River, Kirkwood-Cohansey
and Cape May areas – continue to use outdated data
– Data based on 10-year Droughts – should be amended for 3-year
Droughts
– Leaks from hundreds of miles of wooden pipelines account for
nearly 60 MGD

6. Notes from the Master Plan hearing:
• From an NJ Water Supply Advisor:
– “Allocations are ‘checks’ written from the Master Supply ‘checkbook’ …
we are writing checks we can’t cash”
– “If the Kirkwood-Cohansey region were to max out their usage based
on current allocations, the aquifer would be overdrawn by 300%”
– Overuse of Allocations: Unmetered systems in NY/NJ assumed 200 gpd
per person – when the same systems were metered, it went down to
130 gpd – regulation works
• Draft version created 10 years ago, but only those who worked on,
advised have seen it
– 2 Energy Supply Master Plans have been written
– NJ Water Supply Advisor has been denied a version of the draft several
times
– NJ’s top three economic drivers are water dependent (tourism,
pharmaceuticals, food processing)

7. Notes from the Master Plan hearing:
• Where does the blame fall?
– It is evident there is some kind of DEP Draft
– Previous governors have held up the Master Plan release,
very difficult decisions to be made based on new supply
data
– Originally, Christie berated the DEP and said “a new Plan
was coming” – that was 5 years ago
• “The TV cameras aren’t in here today, but they will be when
there’s no water left”

8. Notes from the Master Plan hearing:
• Solutions:
– Senators look to what California is doing to deal with
shortages – conservation programs, removing lawns,
incentive programs, etc…
Don’t miss the point - We’re not there yet!
We still have time to fix this!
– Update the Master Plan more frequently, not requiring the
entire plan to be updated (CA requires the data updated
every 4 years)
– More attention on Critical Supply Areas and development
– The ‘tough decisions’ need to be made now, before it is
too late

9. New Jersey Water & Sewer Rates
• Regional rates based on an annual usage of
70,000 gals per single family household, sewer
and water
• Rates were collected for all of Atlantic County,
and most of Ocean, Gloucester, Cumberland
and Cape May Counties
• National rates were based on an annual usage
of 90,000 gals and provided by the Arizona
Central news, checked and updated by KW

10. Southern New Jersey,
Average Annual Public Sewer Fee
$0
$100
$200
$300
$400
$500
$600
$700
$800
$900
Atlantic Co. UA Gloucester Co. UA Ocean Co. UA Cumberland Co. UA Cape May Co. UA Private Sewer Systems,
Statewide
AverageAnnualResidentFee
Note: All fees based on 70,000 gals/year usage

11. Annual Sewer Fee by Major City
$0
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
Memphis
LasVegas
AtlanticCity
ElPaso
Chicago
Albuquerque
Mesa
LongBeach
Denver
Fresno
Phoenix
Wichita
OklahomaCity
Philadelphia
Miami
Arlington
FortWorth
SanJose
Minneapolis
Omaha
Indianapolis
LosAngeles
Raleigh
Tulsa
ColoradoSprings
Dallas
Sacramento
Baltimore
Columbus
Tucson
Milwaukee
Detroit
Charlotte
Houston
Louisville
Oakland
KansasCity
SanDiego
Washington,D.C.
Jacksonville
Cleveland
VirginiaBeach
Boston
Austin
NewYork
Portland
SanFrancisco
Seattle
Atlanta
AnnualResidentFee
Memphis, TN
$152
Atlantic City, NJ
$227
Philadelphia, PA
$372
Dallas, TX
$482
New York, NY
$910
San Diego, CA
$616
Note: All fees based on 90,000 gals/year usage
Atlanta, GA
$1,674

12. Atlantic County,
Annual Water Fee by Municipality
$0
$100
$200
$300
$400
$500
$600
$700
ResidentCostperYear
Municipal Water Systems
Private Water Systems
Note: All fees based on 70,000 gals/year usage

13. Annual Water Fee by Major City
$0
$100
$200
$300
$400
$500
$600
$700
$800
Memphis
Phoenix
Miami
AtlanticCity
Fresno
ElPaso
Chicago
Arlington
Charlotte
Milwaukee
Wichita
Dallas
Jacksonville
Detroit
Tucson
Omaha
Denver
Tulsa
Albuquerque
LasVegas
Sacramento
Louisville
FortWorth
OklahomaCity
Austin
Baltimore
Mesa
Cleveland
Columbus
Minneapolis
SanJose
LongBeach
Indianapolis
LosAngeles
Houston
VirginiaBeach
Raleigh
Washington,D.C.
Oakland
Philadelphia
Portland
ColoradoSprings
Boston
NewYork
KansasCity
Atlanta
SanFrancisco
SanDiego
Seattle
AnnualResidentFee
Note: All fees based on 90,000 gals/year usage
Memphis, TN
$177
Atlantic City, NJ
$217
Dallas, TX
$287
Philadelphia, PA
$501
New York, NY
$572
Seattle, WA
$737
Baltimore, MD
$384