New Rates Adopted - Effective July 1, 2026
A public hearing was held on June 1, 2026 to hear all oral testimony and consider all written protests concerning the proposed rate increases. No valid legal objections nor written protests were received by the District prior to the close of the public hearing. After the close of the public hearing, the District governing board adopted Ordinance No. 96 establishing revised service charges. Below is the adopted Ordiance 96.
THE BASIS OF THE NEW SEWER SERVICE CHARGES
The District imposes sewer service charges through four customer classes: (1) single family residential (“SFR”), (2) multi-family residential (“MFR”), (3) schools, and (4) commercial customers. SFR and MFR customer classes pay a fixed annual charge per unit. MFR customers are billed per the number of dwelling units on the parcel. Schools are billed based on the average daily attendance (“ADA”). Finally, commercial customer classes are charged per equivalent residential unit (“ERU”). An ERU is based on the flow generation and estimated strength of the wastewater relative to the SFR customer class, therefore one ERU is equivalent to one SFR. The flow per ERU is defined as 150 gallons per day (“gpd”) and strength of 387 and 476 mg/L respectively for BOD and TSS.* Commercial customers are assigned rates based upon each customer’s flow generation (e.g., the amount of water use for the parcel) and estimated strength of the wastewater discharged into the system based on the type of commercial use. Commercial customers will be charged for no less than 75 gpd at their applicable rate, regardless of water use. The District proposes to continue including sewer service charges on the annual property tax rolls. The following table shows the maximum sewer service charges for all customer classes to be adopted for the next five fiscal years. *BOD is the biochemical oxygen demand and TSS is the total suspended solids associated with determining the strength of the wastewater prior to treatment.
Table of new Annual Service Charges Effective July 1, 2026
GSD's new rates are still below the others!
The new rates are needed to keep revenues aligned with long-term funding needs, including:
- Funding $73.4 million in treatment plant and collection system capital improvement projects over the next ten years, including vital infrastructure projects such as the biosolids and energy project, an energy storage project which reduces long-term costs of purchased power, a biosolids handling improvement project, increased biogas utilization project, and other long-term annual repair and replacement capital projects of approximately $3 million per year;
- Funding inflationary increases in operating and maintenance costs, including, but not limited to, price increases of power, chemicals, specialized services and equipment, construction, staffing, and other costs; and
- Funding the ongoing annual operations and maintenance costs, debt service obligations, and reserve funding ensuring financial and operational stability now and in the future.
Background Information
The Goleta Sanitary District (GSD) collects fees from different kinds of users: residents, agencies, and businesses in our service area to cover the costs of collecting, treating and reusing resources from wastewater. These fees are used to pay for ongoing maintenance and repairs to our existing facilities and equipment, and to pay for improvements. Over the last several years, the GSD has implemented a number of innovative cost-saving measures to keep rates low. Unfortunately, costs are outpacing revenues, and the new adjustments to our rates are needed.
We are mandated by law to charge only the amount required to provide services. Prior to this year the District last changed rates in 2019, so an updated rate and fee study was comissioned earlier this year. We hired a local firm to collect data to ensure that the different types of users are charged an amount equivalent to their usage. The rate study results are the basis for the change in fees to be charged, with some adjustments occuring to ensure fairness and equitablility. Rate adjustments help fund our operations which include: maintenance and repair of sewer pipes, the treatment plant, and planning for the future reliability of infrastructure. Below is the Rate and Fee Study.