Arcatians who pay for water! At some point in the future, probably around January, you may see your water rates go up — but your total water-related bills will likely stay about the same.

It’s a little convoluted, but basically it stems from a recently approved $12 million steel waterline replacement project that would fix 33,600 lateral feet of old water main, hundreds of valves and laterals, and 700 meter boxes. 

However, the city needs to loan $3.5 million of its own money from the wastewater fund into the water fund to pay for the project, and this is where things get strange. According to Arcata Finance Director Tabatha Miller, cities aren’t allowed to “gift” money from one fund into another. It violates the general accounting principles that guide government accounting, and the State Controller’s Office hates it when cities do that.

So to ensure that the wastewater fund is still well-funded and can still function the way it’s supposed to, the city has to repay the “loan” from the wastewater fund with interest tacked on. That initial $3.5 million will become $4.35 million with the interest added. To pay off the interest, the city may raise water rates 9%. 

That’s a long process that involves finishing some research on the rate itself, presenting the results to city council, informing rate-payers about the potential increase, and holding a public hearing on the issue. The earliest it may happen is January of 2026.

Don’t fear. Miller said the city council has directed the city to do whatever possible to keep the rates low, which could include lowering wastewater fees or charging a lower rate to lower-income customers. It’s unlikely that the total you’re paying for your bills will change too much.