Golden State Water Proposes Freezing Rates, Investing in Clean Drinking Water  

You should never have to think twice about the quality of water coming out of your tap. To ensure this peace of mind, Golden State Water Company (Golden State Water) continues to invest in Clearlake’s water system to provide reliable, quality water.  

Our proposed rates for 2025-2027 will provide customers with long-term value by investing over $6.2 million in proactive capital investments and maintenance of local water infrastructure. The investments include renovations and modifications to plant facilities and a water treatment plant, replacing aging mains and meters, purification equipment, and systemwide technology that monitors water quality.    

  These major investments avoid the costly and sometimes dangerous effects of delaying the replacement of aging infrastructure. This reduces the chances of future water main breaks or disruptions in the treatment and delivery of water.  

  As a state-regulated utility, every three years, Golden State Water is required to propose reasonable rates that reflect the total cost of providing water service, maintaining the infrastructure, complying with regulatory requirements, and making needed system improvements.  While the community has a reliable water source, the cost of monitoring, treating, and distributing lake water is costly.   

  This is why we have proposed consolidating the Clearlake Service Area with a Sacramento service area – which allows us to spread the costs of maintaining both systems over a larger customer base and share resources between both service areas.  This approach is followed in our larger service areas.  The proposal to consolidate the Clearlake and Sacramento service areas includes freezing Clearlake’s rates for the proposed rate period (2025 through 2027), with subsequent rate adjustments being capped at the Consumer Price Index until the Sacramento rates are approximately equalized with the rates in the Clearlake service area.  In addition, Golden State Water will continue to provide financial assistance for qualifying customers.  More information about these programs can be found at gswater.com or by calling our 24-hour customer service center at 1.800.999.4033.    

  The alternative “non-consolidated rate” also calls for proactive investments, however, at a higher cost than the “consolidated rate.” The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which will consider both Golden State Water rate plans, is tasked with working with the Public Advocates Office to ensure that customers receive the lowest possible rates without compromising the safety and reliability of their water system.   

  At Golden State Water, the choice is clear — the proposed 2025-27 consolidated rates will allow GSWC to continue to provide substantial investments in local water infrastructure to Clearlake customers.    

We hope you agree.  

 Paul Schubert, Northern District General Manager  

Golden State Water Company