Question: What’s going on with the water bills? Apparently, there are going to be two separate charges, and they both will rise year after year. I wasn’t aware of all this. I don’t even know the size of my meter at my house.
Answer: New rate tiers and annual rate increases were approved for Honolulu Board of Water Supply residential customers last summer, with significant changes taking effect this Monday. Affected customers likely will see the changes in their August bill.
The changes were reported last summer, but we’ll review the main elements for single-family homes, which will see the biggest rate hikes. Some rates decrease for multi-unit dwellings.
>> The flat-rate Billing Charge of $9.26 a month will be replaced by a monthly Customer Charge based on the size of your water meter. Most single-family homes have a three-quarter-inch or five-eighths-inch meter, according to the BWS. The monthly fee for those sizes will be $10.42 effective Monday and will rise incrementally each year, reaching $12.09 on July 1, 2022.
Readers have complained that BWS should not charge a separate administrative fee, no matter what it is called. The BWS says the monthly charge covers the cost of reading, maintaining and replacing water meters and the costs of handling the bills and related customer service, apart from the cost of the water used. Customers are charged separately for water use, per 1,000 gallons (k-gal), rounded down.
>> A new four-tier rate structure based on water use will charge customers in single-family homes and duplexes significantly higher rates than those living in apartments, condominiums and other multi-unit dwellings. (Residents of multi-dwelling units might see lower monthly water bills than they pay now.) Rates will rise annually through 2022.
>> The first rate tier is a new one, called “Essential Needs,” that will charge residential customers less for the first 2,000 gallons of water they use a month than they now pay. Starting Monday, the Essential Needs rate will be $3.79 per k-gal for single-family customers and $3.70 per k-gal for multi-unit customers. Currently those customers pay $4.42 per k-gal for the first 13,000 gallons or 9,000 gallons of water used, respectively. As of July 1, 2022, the Essential Needs rate will rise to $4.46 per k-gal for single-family homes and $3.77 per k-gal for multi-unit residences.
>> The other three tiers also charge based on the amount of water used a month; rates rise with use. Tier 4 costs the most, for more than 30,000 gallons used. That k-gal rate is currently $7.94 for single-family homes and will rise to $8.46 Monday and annually thereafter, reaching $9.25 on July 1, 2022.
>> BWS estimates give single-family residential customers an idea of what to expect in their August bills. The estimated bill is $18 for a customer using only 2,000 gallons of water a month, $51.02 for the average customer (9,000 gallons) and $199.58 for a high user (35,000 gallons).
Q: Do public schools have a minimum number of days?
A: Yes. By state law they are required to have a 180-day school year that includes 1,080 hours. All the time that students are on campus, including recess and lunch, counts toward the 1,080 hours, according to the state Department of Education’s website.
Mahalo
Mahalo to those beautiful people by the name of Bill, a lady with her baby named Iris, and a guy whose name I did not get. They helped me when I fell from the stairs at Pearlridge on May 10 at about 1 p.m. I was bleeding, and they called the ambulance and stayed with me until medical help arrived. Thanks for your kindness, thoughtfulness and for caring. — Grateful senior
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
