Many of the expenses incurred in supplying domestic water are directly related to the quantity of water consumed by each land-owner. This is especially true of the costs for arsenic removal. The media that adsorbs the arsenic must be replaced at the end of its useful life, which in our case was originally estimated to be every 19.4 months, but is lasting much longer due to a decision to chlorinate the incoming water, mix treated water with raw well water, and adopte a tiered rate structure. Media replacement is estimated to cost $5,400 for the media and approximately $6,000 for removal and re-installation. Similarly, power and depreciation costs are related to the volume of water delivered.

Our tiered Domestic rates insure that the less water you use above the base 5,000 gallons per month, the less you pay. Owners with livestock or large families are likely to consume more water than the average household. After the new rates went into effect, water use fell 36% - the main reason our arsenic removal media is lasting so much longer than originally estimated.

The Board reviewed the Domestic budget very carefully and concluded that no adjustments in either the base or tiered rates, or the quantities of water in the base allocation and each tier were justified.