The combination discussion between Carmichael Water District (CWD or District) and Sacramento Suburban Water District (SSWD) began in July 2021 with the appointment of a 2x2 Ad Hoc Committee (Committee). To date, there have been 21 2x2 Committee meetings, 2 joint Board meetings, and 4 public information workshops, 2 held at CWD and 2 held at SSWD. Both districts have also jointly 1) conducted a Business Case Analysis by a third party consultant, 2) developed the Further Analysis of Combining Carmichael Water District and Sacramento Suburban Water District by staff from both organizations, and 3) retained facilitation services and public outreach consultants.
The combination discussion topics included water quality, water rights, finance including rates and debts, governance, and LAFCo approval process. The District also received many public comments, emails, and letters from its rate payers and employees. After careful evaluation, the Board of Directors elected to conclude the process of evaluating the potential combination with SSWD at a Special Board Meeting on 3/26/2024. The factors include
- our fiduciary duty with regard to our water rights on the American River,
- feedback from our customers and employees,
- major investment recently made to our wells, tank, and pipelines, and
- the potential benefits of the combination
The rate structure for CWD and SSWD is similar consisting of a fixed rate portion and a variable rate portion. CWD’s fix rate portion is about 57% of a monthly bill while SSWD’s is about 77% of a monthly bill based on the water use for typical single residential accounts with ¾-inch to 1-inch meters.
water use & meter size | CWD
(single tiered rate) | SSWD
(two tiered rates) |
15 units | fixed | variable at $2.26 | TOTAL | fixed | variable at $1.01 | TOTAL |
3/4" meter | $38.38 | $33.90 | $72.28 | $50.46 | $15.15 | $65.61 |
1" meter | $60.12 | $33.90 | $94.02 | $78.63 | $15.15 | $93.78 |
16 units | CWD has no second tier rate |
| variable at $1.32 | |
3/4" meter | $38.38 | $36.16 | $74.54 | $50.46 | $21.12 | $71.58 |
1" meter | $60.12 | $36.16 | $96.28 | $78.63 | $21.12 | $99.75 |
Typical water use is between 14 - 16 units for single residential accounts. |
CWD will continue with its mission to provide the highest quality water for the lowest feasible cost and to serve our customers with diligence, efficiency, and integrity. At this juncture, CWD will review its current operations and conditions to assess
- future laws and regulations impacting our water rights, water quality, and our operations,
- our financials and water rates based on future water sales/conservation efforts,
- our infrastructure and capital improvement needs, and
- our strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats (SWOT)
Please do not hesitate to contact us at 916.483.2452 or online at www.carmichelwd.org.
