Water Authority forgoes right to raise rates

| 22/05/2020 | 20 Comments
Cayman News Service

(CNS): The Water Authority will not be increasing water and sewerage rates this year, even though the Regulations allow for an annual rate adjustment, because of the widespread economic pain due to the current crisis. “This is a very challenging time for our community, and many of our customers are facing financial hardships due to the coronavirus pandemic,” said Water Authority Director Dr Gelia Frederick-van Genderen.

“Water and wastewater services are vital for public health, and the Authority is pleased to continue to provide these services at an affordable rate,” she added in a release from the authority Friday evening.

Kearney Gomez, Chairman of the Water Authority Board, said, “The services provided by the Water Authority are essential, particularly during a health crisis like the one we are currently facing. Maintaining the current rates provides the public with the assurance that they can continue to access these services at an economical cost.”

Under the current rate structure, the fee for the first 12 cubic metres (m3) consumed each month, which is equivalent to approximately 32,000 US gallons, is CI$4.56 and CI$5.79 on each m3 thereafter. In Cayman Brac, residential piped water rate is CI$6.21 on each m3 and trucked water customer fees are $7.77 on each m3.

Sewerage rates are based on the assessed Sewerage Fixture Units (SFUs) for the service location in question and are calculated at a constant rate of CI$1.672. The rate for septage disposal is CI$17.018 per 1,000 US gallons.

The Water Authority has also said it will waive penalty fees for May, in addition to waived penalty fees for the months of March and April, to help customers feeling the financial pinch, In addition, the WA has developed a COVID-19 Payment Deferral Policy to assist those who may be temporarily out of a job due to the pandemic.

See more details of the Payment Deferral Policy here.

The Authority’s website contains a variety of resources to help customers understand their bills, reading their water meters, and conserve water by reducing water use through smart home and landscaping habits.

For more updates, visit the Authority’s website Water Authority website and social media pages.

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Category: Business, utilities

Comments (20)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Movin to NOLA

  2. Anonymous says:

    Lots of rain this weekend. Anyone using piped water must be doing so because it is the cheapest option.

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  3. Anonymous says:

    Wow, should I be bowing down in gratitude? They have ripped us off for decades.

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  4. H2O says:

    Check your figures: 12 cubic metres is 3170.4 US Gallons

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  5. Anon says:

    With te the drastic reductions in the cost of fuel this is a hollow gesture. What we should be getting is a reduction in the cost of water.

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    • Anonymous says:

      A simple “Thank you” would be nice.

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      • Anonymous says:

        What, thank you for not gouging some more? The annual rate adjustment is meant to provide for the rates to go down as well as up. Given the dramatic reduction in fuel cost, it would be nice to see some calculations demonstrating why the rate is being kept static – if only to prove how generous that is! But s usual decision made without any supporting data, and we are meant to be grateful – bit like allowing exercise on Sundays when there was no reason fr taking it away in the first place.

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    • Anonymous says:

      What do you mean reduction, shouldn’t all “woters” get free water?

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  6. Anonymous says:

    The Water Authority is a greedy OfReg-insulated gouging monopoly that just wants to fly under radar as long as it can.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Says the person that buys a gallon for how many dollars in imported plastic from any grocery store yet complains about spending 3 cents on a gallon of potable tap water.

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      • Anonymous says:

        sorry friend but the first guy/gal was right. I have dealt extensively with WAC over the years and they are a wildly inefficient organization with an incredible amount of line loss (water lost to the ground through leaks). We spend an insane amount of money making back that loss for them. Cayman Water has a fraction of the line loss…so they make a bunch of money which they then waste on their insanely over-paid board. Cayman Water trades publicly (CWCO) so all their board salaries are public…and they are insultingly high. Both organizations are poorly regulated monopolies (even though there are two they have exclusive access to different areas). We pay roughly 10x the amount for water that they have in most countries and with the price of oil going through the floor these companies along with CUC should be passing that savings along to us but they are not. Neither are the gas stations if nobody noticed. No real oversight from Ofreg…embarrassing. Home gas is the same; gouged consumers for decades until clean gas showed up. Look up the price in the US of propane over the last ten years compared to here and you’ll see it.
        Heads should be rolling everywhere; it’s the haves taking from the have-nots constantly and Ofreg lets the whole thing keep rolling. Prove me wrong.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Right off the bat, Cayman Water charges a higher rate than WAC.

          Be thankful you have 99% 24/7 water and electricity and no longer have to deal with the rolling blackouts and water system controlled shutdowns half of you came here to escape from. Even well off countries you mention have millions of customers and can operate on significantly thinner margins.

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          • Anonymous says:

            It’s why Foster’s will never compete with Walmart. You have a point

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          • Anonymous says:

            Sorry buddy, but where I’m from I have never in my 40 years of life experienced a water outage. Never a power outage without a storm so let’s not pretend that utilities, who are literally paid to provide these services, doing their jobs is some sort of miracle we should all be so thankful for. I haven’t checked it in a long time (maybe 18 months) but last time I did, Cayman Water performed poorly compared to almost all of its comparable publicly traded competition of similar market cap. Starting a business in a country with a small population is not carte blanche to jack your margins through the roof, pay executives fat-cat salaries that are questionably earned, and rip off all the consumers in those countries. Think about it for a minute: the entire nation pays some of if not the highest utility costs in the world which supports a small few individuals in powerful positions. Check the markets CWCO works in and you’ll see they are all virtual (or literal) monopolies like Cayman and poorly (if at all) regulated.

            Still don’t feel proven wrong.

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            • Anonymous says:

              I already did. Where “you’re from”, likely has at least 100x the customer base and already established utilities that aren’t actively expanding (see CYB project) and therefore can operate on much thinner margins.

              Bottom line, if you’re complaining about paying 3 cents for a gallon of drinkable water, you must complain about any other thing and live a miserable life. Enjoy it here, wallow in your misery alone or leave.

      • Anonymous says:

        Alex, I’ll take potent potables for $500.

  7. Anonymous says:

    ..Well done….why cant CUC follow suit?

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    • Anonymous says:

      With the price of fuel having dropped so much the past 2 months both CUC and the water people should be cutting prices for their consumers. However, they are making nice additional profits with the fuel price drop.

      A gallon of gasoline in New Jersey today is only $1.73 USD. Incredible.

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  8. Anonymous says:

    Lol

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