SANTA NELLA – Customers of the Santa Nella County Water District have added incentive to pay their bills on time.

In response to a growing problem of late payments, the district has instituted a 10 percent penalty on those accounts, said Interim General Manager Amy Montgomery.

The district is also following through on disconnecting accounts which become more than 30 days past due, Montgomery said, although it is also working diligently with customers to make arrangements which keep the water flowing.

“We have a lot of late payers, so we have instituted an aggressive program to start charging a late fee,” she explained. “We are hoping that people will start paying their bills on time to avoid that fee.”

In another sign of the economic times, Montgomery said, the number of empty homes within the district has increased in recent months.

“At the end of 2008 there was a drastic decline in the number of services,” Montgomery said. “We had approximately 20 to 25 empties where service was shut off, often for non-payment.”

That number has leveled off, she noted last week.

The district is continuing to enforce its shut-off policy, although only as a last resort.

A notice of delinquency is followed by a 48-hour notice and personal contact if possible before services are discontinued.

“We don’t want to shut anybody off. That’s not our goal, but we also don’t want the bill to get too high. The longer you let it go the harder it is for people to get caught up,” she commented. “We have maybe one or two shutoffs a month, but not before we have made vigorous efforts to collect.”

The district is willing to work with its customers, she stressed, as long as the effort is made and arrangements are honored.

Rate hike pending

The district board last week tabled review of a water and sewer rate study until March, but Montgomery said she anticipates rate increases will be recommended to cover operational costs.

The first of three increases in a phased-in approach to raising the rates was implemented in November 2007, she noted, but the following increments were never formally enacted.

The district will review updated information before deciding on the rates.

“We are definitely behind. The rates are not at the cost of operating the district,” Montgomery told Mattos Newspapers.

She also signaled that the district may be in for its second consecutive summer of water rationing.

Pumping into the nearby San Luis Reservoir has been halted, Montgomery noted.

A hearing was set for earlier this week on possibly relaxing some of the restrictions on pumping from the delta.

“This district has also submitted a correspondence to the secretary of food and agriculture expressing the concerns of how (the restrictions) would affect this community,” she related.

Montgomery said she will ask the board to adopt mandatory water conservation measures to run from May 1 through Sept. 1.