Ch. 3.05 Art. V Charges | Coachella Valley Water District Code

Article V. Charges

3.05.150 Monthly charges for domestic water service.

A. General Provisions. For all metered service connections located within or outside the boundaries of the district, the monthly charge for service will consist of a monthly service charge based on the size of the meter and customer class plus a consumption charge (quantitative charge). Property owners with an installed meter, whether the water service is on or off, are held responsible for and required to pay the monthly service charge. In addition to these charges a cross connection protection charge will be applicable to all meters with such devices installed.

1. General Provisions. When service is started or terminated during the month, the monthly service charge will be prorated by day based on a 30-day billing period.

2. Description of Water Usage. See Appendix A-2.

3. Temporary Service Connection Monthly Service Charge. See Appendix A-3.

1. Determination. The charge will be determined on the basis of a meter reading or it will be estimated as described below.

When a meter is out of order or cannot be read for any reason, the charge will be based, at the option of the district, on one of the following:

a. The average meter reading for the three preceding months; or

b. An estimate of water delivered based either upon the user’s prior use during the same season of the previous year or upon a reasonable comparison with the use of other users receiving the same class of service during the same period and under similar circumstances and conditions.

2. Permanent Service Connection Consumption Charge. See Appendix A-4.

3. Temporary Service Connection Consumption Charge. See Appendix A-5.

D. Minimum Closing Bill Amount. The closing bill will be based upon charges applicable on the date service is terminated. If the charges are less than the amount provided for in Appendix A-8, no bill will be rendered.

1. General. The district reserves the right to review any aspect of a water budget at any time as it deems necessary.

a. Indoor Water Budget. The indoor water budget is calculated using the following three factors and is billed in units of 100 cubic feet (748 gallons):

i. Fifty gallons of water per person per day (gpcd).

ii. The number of people in the household (assumed to be four).

iii. The number of days in the billing cycle.

As an equation, the indoor water budget allocation is expressed as follows:

Indoor Water Allocation = [Household Size] x [50 gallons] x [Days Billed]

b. Outdoor Water Budget. The outdoor water budget is calculated based on the following six factors:

i. Amount of irrigated area per parcel (LA) (45 percent of the parcel size as provided by the county assessor, or the landscaped area as measured utilizing the district’s aerial imagery, or landscape plans as approved by the district per landscape and irrigation system design criteria).

(A) For new residential development, where landscape plans are not available for the entire parcel, the LA will be 45 percent of the parcel size as provided by the county assessor. The district reserves the right to review the account once updated aerial imagery becomes available in order to accurately calculate the LA.

ii. Historical daily evapotranspiration (ETo) as measured at a local weather station each day in the billing cycle over a five-year rolling period. Evapotranspiration is the quantity of water evaporated from wet leaves and soil combined with the amount of water used by plants expressed in inches.

iii. A weather-based adjustment factor (WZ ETo) is based on which zone of the Coachella Valley the property is located. Some areas experience different weather conditions, such as areas near the mountains getting less direct sunlight than areas far from mountains. The zones are as follows:

(A) Zone 2: 0.77.

(B) Zone 3: 0.84.

(D) Zone 5: 1.09.

iv. A monthly plant factor (MPF), which is a decimal factor that when multiplied by an area’s evaporation and plant water usage rates as measured by a weather station estimates the amount of water each plant will need. The district uses a plant factor of 0.55 to 0.65 depending on the time of year.

January	0.65
February	0.65
March	0.65
April	0.6
May	0.55
June	0.55
July	0.55
August	0.55
September	0.55
October	0.6
November	0.65
December	0.65

v. Billed in units of 100 cubic feet (748 gallons), with a conversion factor (VCF) of .00083.

vi. An irrigation efficiency (IE) factor of 0.7 (70 percent).

As an equation, the outdoor water budget calculation is expressed as follows:

Outdoor Water Allocation = {(LA x ETo x WZ ETo) x (MPF x VCF/IE)}

LA	=	Landscaped area in square feet
ETo	=	Evapotranspiration total in inches for days in billing period (visit www.cvwd.org/ET)
WZ ETo	=	Weather based adjustment factor (see below)
MPF	=	Monthly plant factor
VCF	=	Volumetric conversion (0.00083)
IE	=	Irrigation system efficiency (70 percent)

The tier thresholds for residential and multifamily customer rates are as follows:

Tier 1 – Up to indoor water budget.

Tier 2 – Up to 100 percent of total water budget (indoor plus outdoor water budget).

Tier 3 – 101 percent to 175 percent of total water budget.

Tier 4 – 176 percent to 300 percent of total water budget.

Tier 5 – All water usage above 300 percent of total water budget.

F. Landscape Irrigation Customers Water Budget Calculation. The tier thresholds for landscape irrigation customers are as follows (Tier 1 is not applicable to landscape irrigation customers):

Tier 1 – Not applicable.

Tier 2 – Up to 100 percent of outdoor water budget.

Tier 3 – 101 percent to 175 percent of total water budget.

Tier 4 – 176 percent to 300 percent of water budget.

Tier 5 – All water usage above 300 percent of total water budget.

G. Commercial Customers Water Budget Calculation. The water budgets for commercial customers are based on the number of equivalent dwelling units (EDUs) when the business was established or repurposed. Consistent with the policy for residential accounts, each EDU is given eight CCF for its water budget. The tier thresholds for commercial customers are as follows (Tier 1 is not applicable to commercial customers):

Tier 1 – Not applicable.

Tier 2 – 100 percent of water budget (based on account’s assigned EDUs).

Tier 3 – 101 percent to 175 percent of total water budget.

Tier 4 – 176 percent to 300 percent of water budget.

Tier 5 – All water usage above 300 percent of total water budget.

H. Aggregated Water Budgets. The water budgets for multiple meters of the same classification can be combined into one budget if the meters are hydraulically looped or if the customer has applied for and been approved for an aggregated water budget by the water management department. If meters of different classes are hydraulically looped, the district will determine the proper meter classification, and make changes as necessary so they are aligned. If this is not possible, the customer must sever the connection of any meter of a different classification so that it serves its intended purpose at time of purchase. (Ord. 1399.16 § 5-1, 2023)