Boise water company looks to raise rates 24%, cites improvements. Public to get its say

The water company serving most of the Boise area wants to raise its rates.

Veolia, one of the world’s largest water companies, filed a request with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission in September to increase rates for the utility by 24.1%.

The company, based in France, said it made a slew of expensive investments in the Treasure Valley’s water quality over the past two years, including replacing old pipes, building storage tanks and upgrading treatment plants. It argued that the additional revenue the rate increase would provide could help recoup money it spent on those improvements.

If Veolia’s request is approved as-is, residential customers would see an average increase of $7.59 on their monthly bills — about 25 cents per day. Commercial customers’ increases would average $27.92 a month, and public authority bills would increase $25.46.

“It’s a quarter a day (for residential). It’s a cup of Starbucks a month that we’re talking about,” Madeline Wyatt, a spokesperson for Veolia, told the Idaho Statesman by phone. “The 24% sounds like a huge amount of money, but for the average residential customer, it’s $7 a month.”

The PUC, the agency tasked with rejecting, approving or modifying the request, is holding a public hearing on Veolia’s proposal Monday.

If Veolia’s proposal is approved as requested, the company’s revenues would increase by $12.1 million per year.

What investments has Veolia made?

Veolia said it spent $70 million, an average investment of $660 per customer, on improvements in water quality, storage capacity and fire suppression in the Boise area.

“We can point to, in our rate case filing, everywhere we invested that $70 million,” Wyatt said. “We spend money where we think it’s necessary. There are things we do that we know are the right thing to do, so we’re investing. It’s a water system, you can’t not maintain it.”

Veolia serves about 260,000 customers and operates more than 1,300 miles of underground water mains across the Treasure Valley.

In a press release about the rate case, the company listed some of its largest capital projects from the past two years. Here’s a snapshot:

• Eagle Water Company acquisition. Veolia purchased the locally owned Eagle Water Company for $10.5 million in late 2021, adding about 4,200 homes to its service area. The company said residents now benefit from 24-hour monitoring of the water system.

• Columbia Water Treatment Plant expansion. Veolia spent $3.5 million constructing a second holding tank, known as a clearwell, and replacing membrane filters. The company said upgrades to the Southeast Boise treatment plant will help provide water during peak-demand times.

• Taggart Wells filtration system. Veolia demolished the old Taggart filtration site at the site of two wells and built a new treatment facility to address discolored water caused by minerals on the Boise Bench. The company said the project cost $1.7 million.

• Whistle Pig water tank construction. Veolia spent $6.2 million in Southwest Boise to build a 2.8-million-gallon underground tank, called Whistle Pig, to improve water pressure, provide additional storage capacity and aid in fire suppression efforts.
  
  

• lce Pigging in East First Bench. Veolia began employing a pipe-cleaning technique that removes sediment and buildup from water mains.

• Hillcrest water tank replacement. Veolia replaced the Hillcrest water tank in Boise after over 70 years of usage. The tank was taken offline in October so contractors could demolish it and replace it with a slightly larger 2.3 million-gallon tank, which is expected to be in service by the end of May. The company said the project cost $3 million.

• Boise Bench system improvements. Veolia began three pipeline replacement projects costing $791,000 in 2021 and invested in a $7.5 million meter-reading system that provides hourly updates on water consumption.

• Vactor Truck. Veolia started using a vactor truck to help remove debris that might be left in pipes after maintenance or repairs.

Wyatt acknowledged that Veolia spent the money on the improvements without knowing whether it would be able to get the rate hike.

“This is about making sure everybody has clean drinking water, every single day,” Wyatt said. “We all take water for granted. We turn the tap on and it’s just there, but we don’t think about how it may have gotten there.”

Veolia acquired Suez, previously the Treasure Valley’s largest water supplier, in a $15.4 billion merger in early 2022, according to prior reporting from the Statesman. Suez bought the parent company of United Water Idaho in 2000 and formally rebranded it in 2015. United Water Idaho was the successor to Boise Water Works, which began serving Boise in 1890.

When was the last rate increase?

This is Veolia’s first filing for an increase, but its predecessor, Suez, filed a request in July 2020 to increase rates by 22.3%, according to PUC spokesperson Adam Rush.

A request from Suez was approved in April 2021, but at a much lower rate — 8.75% over two years. It raised an additional $3.9 million in revenue, instead of the $10.2 million the company originally sought. By the time the request was approved, Veolia had purchased 30% of Suez shares.

The adjustment to the rate increase Suez initially proposed came after the city of Boise, Ada County, Micron Technology, Intermountain Fair Housing Council, Suez Water Customer Group and Community Action Partnership Association of Idaho petitioned to intervene.

The utility commission entered negotiations with Suez and the petitioners, and reached a settlement in March 2021. As part of that settlement, the company agreed to work more quickly to address “numerous customer reports of discolored water on the Boise Bench” and keep the PUC apprised of its efforts.

This time around, a few of the previous petitioners have again filed to intervene, including the city of Boise, Ada County, Micron and former Ada County commissioner Sharon Ullman.

“Every single rate case across the U.S. has petitioners,” Wyatt said. “None of them surprise us at all. Micron is one of our bigger customers. That makes sense because they’re one of the largest businesses in the valley. So they would have a stake in the outcome, I would assume.”

What can customers do?

The PUC has scheduled a customer and public hearing at 6 p.m. Monday to take testimony on Veolia’s rate application. The hearing will take place at the agency’s office at 11331 W. Chinden Blvd., Building 8, Suite 201-A in Boise.

Any comments made in-person at the hearing will be entered into the record and the PUC will consider them when making a decision about the case. To tune into the workshop by phone, call 1-415-655-0001 and enter meeting number 2464 879 8267. Testimony will not be accepted by phone.

In addition to the public hearing, the commission is holding a technical hearing from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 4 at the same location for the involved parties to present witnesses, testimony and exhibits. If the hearing doesn’t conclude on April 4, it is scheduled to continue for as much as three days after that.

To watch the technical hearing online, visit idahogov.webex.com and enter meeting number 2450 028 9817. The password is April4Hearing. To listen over the phone, call 1-415-655-0001 and enter meeting number 2450 028 9817.

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