If the city adopts a proposed plan from the City Council, residents may see a minimal savings on sewer bills and higher greens fees at local golf courses.

The City Council suggested a rate increase for effluent (or treated wastewater) Tuesday night during its regular meeting at city council chambers in the police facility. The city currently charges about $52 per-acre foot for effluent as a waste product, but officials say the effluent could also be used for city facilities, such as city parks, and is a valuable commodity.

“It is a valuable commodity but I also look at the other side and that is because it is valuable and it will help with the sewer rates. I think it’s only fair (to raise the rate),” Mayor Mark Nexsen said. “$52 is obviously way too low.”

City staff surveyed several cities in the state and most charge about 30 to 50 percent of the potable water rate. Nexsen suggested Lake Havasu City charge 40 percent (about $400) of the potable water rate ($1,000), to be phased in during the next three years. The suggested plan, which needs staff revision and council adoption, would charge $150 in 2010, $325 in 2011 and $400 in 2012.

“That gives people time to adjust and get used to the rate of $400,” Nexsen said. “I think that you can’t surprise people going from $52 to $400 but having said that, the $52 is a heck of a price. I could’ve picked some different numbers but that seemed like a reasonable approach every year.”

The revenue is required to go back into the sewer project, Interim Public Works Director Mark Clark said, but added the reduction might be insignificant to the individual taxpayer. The city collected about $69,000 from effluent sold in 2009 and Clark said if the new $400 rate were adopted, it would bring in about $500,000.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” he said previously. “But compared to the $385 million in the sewer, the magnitude of it won’t be that huge. But it is a start because it’s adding a possible new revenue that wasn’t there before.”

Effluent is currently used at three golf courses in the city, the Havasu Marina, Islander RV Resort, Nautical Inn Estates and the island ball fields, Clark said. Each of the establishments have contracts with one-year renewals and all are subject to renegotiation and price increase.

The Island Golf Club at the Nautical Beachfront Resort Pro Shop Manager Rick Fulmer said the increased rate could be a “big problem” for local golf courses.

“As a business person out here they’ve got us by the short hairs basically,” Fulmer said. “We’ve got no choice because potable water is too expensive. I definitely don’t want to see an increase as our revenues are down already and the only way we could make up our losses is to charge people more to play.”

Clark said he was concerned a high rate could be problematic for the whole city.

“My only worry is that at that point in time, a tipping point is reached where they close the golf course and we don’t have that disposal site,” Clark said. “Because occasionally you hear rumblings of areas in the state where golf courses close … so if you don’t have that user, then you just have to dispose of it.”

Nexsen said he does not believe courses will close as a result of the suggested increase.

“Again, $400 is not an unreasonable price,” he said. “The golf courses, those aren’t public entities. If they have an increase in costs, they’re going to increase fees to people like you and I that play golf, but I didn’t see that as an unreasonable amount over a three year period.”

A main component for the possible increase is potential use in the city’s parks system. City staff will consider two rates based on the council’s suggestions, one for commercial use and one for governmental use. Through the two separate rates “transitioning major city park users to effluent use will have a positive impact on the general fund,” according to the communication.

“The city would like to have as low cost as possible for the government rate and that would mean recovering the costs to provide the water to the parks,” Clark said previously. “The (commercial rate) goes to profit-making businesses and we recognize that value in the private industry.”

Clark said the he hopes to have a rate proposal for the city in time for contract negotiations with the various public entities in June.

“We’ll take those directions from council and bring it up with those users and after having those discussions, we’ll bring something back to council,” Clark said. “Over the next couple months, because we need to have everything finalized by the June or July timeframe.”

You can contact the reporter at nbruttell@havasunews.com