Padre Dam’s Board of Directors recently voted to defer the scheduled 2020 internal water, recycled water and wastewater rate increases until 2021. In response to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board asked Padre Dam staff to determine the financial feasibility of not increasing water and wastewater rates. Staff determined that operations would experience net losses if the District elected to completely forego the scheduled rate increase. However, in order to address the Board’s desire to assist customers during these challenging times, it was found the District could defer the rate increase. This is a one-time loss of revenue and would be absorbed by the water, recycled water and wastewater operations’ Rate Stabilization Funds. Water, recycled water and wastewater services have been deferred until 2021 and will now appear on bills beginning February 1, 2021.
In March 2020, the Padre Dam Board temporarily suspended late fees and water shutoffs for non-payment in an effort to support customers facing financial challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Padre Dam understands the hardship many are experiencing during these challenging times and that customers may need to prioritize when paying bills. This action was meant to provide customers experiencing hardships with more times to pay without the concern of being shut-off. We encourage customers to stay as current as possible to avoid accumulating large balances that will have to be paid later.