Repost: Important Reminder on La Ventana Water Bill Charges & Surcharges

La Ventana Water Committee

Subject: Repost: Important Reminder on La Ventana Water Bill Charges & Surcharges

Dear Residents,

Due to recent inquiries from our newer neighbors regarding water billings and specific surcharge line items, the Water Committee is resharing our comprehensive rate summary.

The current tariff was finalized late last year following extensive Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) rate case proceedings. Our original full report (issued May 28, 2025) and the official tariff schedule are permanently available for your review in the Water Committee Documents Folder on our community website.

To help clarify your monthly bill, here is a breakdown of how these charges are structured:

- Base Rate Utility Cost:The fixed base rate is $44.93 per month. Southwest Liquids (SWL/PGMS) originally requested a baseline of $54.92. The La Ventana ROA fought to minimize this fixed rate and structure the remaining costs into usage tiers to actively incentivize conservation, balancing SWL's push for high fixed income amid groundwater district curtailments. Please note that PGMS does not currently itemize the base rate vs. gallonage charges as separate lines on your statement. - Volumetric Gallonage Charges:These fees are tiered based on actual usage. They were adjusted upward to offset the lowered fixed base rate secured during discovery. - Water Haulage Surcharge:This variable line item recovers costs from hauled-in water emergency expenses incurred during infrastructure issues in late 2022 and 2023. While the ROA argued these expenses stemmed from poor well maintenance, the PUC allowed the recovery due to an absence of definitive historical metrics. However, we successfully successfully advocated to convert this from a flat fee to a variable charge based on your volumetric consumption—ensuring lower consumers pay a smaller share. This surcharge will remain active until $165,000is fully recovered, estimated to conclude in early 2028(approx. a 30-month total duration). - Rate Case Expenses (RCE) Surcharge:This fixed-amount surchargerecovers the legal and administrative expenditures permitted by the PUC for processing the rate application. Under state regulations, utility compliance and inquiry response costs are passed directly to consumers without standard statutory caps. This fixed assessment will continue until $213,000is fully recovered, estimated to conclude in early 2029(approx. a 42-month total duration). Please feel free to reach out to any member of the Water Committee if you have questions, comments, or require further clarification.

Best regards,

La Ventana Water Committee