The Davis Water Advisory Committee continued its education on the water rate study process Thursday night when it met with Bartle Wells Associates, the consultant hired by the city to carry out the study.

The meeting took place in the Community Chambers at City Hall, 23 Russell Blvd., and can be seen online on the city’s website at http://cityofdavis.org/media/.

Doug Dove, a principal consultant for Bartle Wells, gave a brief presentation to the committee outlining rate study basics while also going over conservation assumptions.

Dove also gave insight into the steps of the rate study process. The first step deals with developing revenue requirements and analyzing the city’s water consumption data. From there, Bartle Wells can begin to add factors into the equation such as conservation scenarios and different tier structures to look at all possibilities for all potential projects.

“All through this process is public input and review,” Dove said. “A lot of it is iterative, so that we go back around and around, so we work through one alternative and find problems, then come up with a different alternative and work that through.”

The Water Advisory Committee will meet next on March 8 and once again will hear from Bartle Wells. The group will delve into the possible revenue requirements and financial assumptions as well as review consumption data and the proposed customer classes.

Bartle Wells still hopes to have a completed study in place to report to the City Council by June 24.

The Davis City Council assembled the 10-member committee in December, adding five alternate members in January, to advise it on water utility rates; the surface water project that would siphon water from the Sacramento River, treat it and pipe it into Davis; and other water-related issues.

The committee meets on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month.

— Reach Tom Sakash at [email protected] or (530) 747-8057. Follow him on Twitter @TomSakash

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