Water Rate Planning
NID is committed to providing reliable, high-quality water service to the communities we serve. A stable financial strategy is essential to supporting more than 6,000 raw water customers who irrigate local fields and farms, as well as over 21,000 treated water connections serving homes and businesses.
NID adopts a budget every five years. The District’s budget and rates are designed to strike a careful balance: generating revenues fairly to invest in the region’s water future while managing rates through steady, modest increases that reflect the cost of service.
Revenue from NID’s hydroelectric power generation helps subsidize the cost of water delivery, keeping rates lower for customers.
Your water rates at work
NID charges only what is necessary to cover the cost of providing water service. These funds support:
- Water treatment: Delivering high-quality drinking water around the clock.
- Operations and maintenance: Day-to-day costs of running the system, including pipes, canals, pumps, reservoirs, and treatment plants.
- Capital projects: Building, repairing, and replacing major water infrastructure.
- Conservation and efficiency programs: Promoting water-use efficiency and offering rebates for water-saving landscapes and appliances.
- System improvements: Investments in technology, watershed health, and long-term water supply reliability to ensure sustainability for future generations.
Water rate history
NID last set its water rates in April 2019, implementing a three-year schedule of increases that concluded in July 2021. Rates for raw and treated water customers were based on the 2020 Cost of Service Study, which ensured operating and capital costs were covered and that sufficient reserves were maintained for emergencies.
NID Directors approved a three-year rate increase totaling just over 17 percent. To help offset costs, revenues from the Hydroelectric Division were used to subsidize water operations—for example, the 2020 budget anticipated $13.6 million in hydropower revenue would support water delivery.
As required by state law, NID followed the Proposition 218 process to adopt the new rates and charges. The Board approved the notice to proceed on March 3, 2022, and the process concluded with a public hearing on May 9, 2022.