Big Lagoon water district sets Oct. 17 hearing on steep rate hikes

Big Lagoon Community Services District has scheduled a Proposition 218 public hearing for Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, at 11 a.m. at Big Lagoon School on whether to adopt a five-year water rate schedule that would sharply raise fixed and volumetric charges for the Humboldt County coastal system.

An Aug. 25 notice mailed under Article XIIID of the California Constitution says the district board, on Aug. 15, considered a May 13 Water Rate Study by GHD, adopted Resolution 2026-05, and directed staff to send the notice. The last rate study was in 2023; the new plan covers Nov. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2030, though the board reviews each year whether to implement the full increase.

The notice states that existing rates will not cover projected operating costs after a shift from fully volunteer staffing to a hybrid volunteer and paid model, and that the district must rebuild aging pipe and storage. "There are dilapidated fire hydrants and waterlines that have outlived their useful life by decades," the notice says. It also reports "a severe shortage of water storage capacity for both operations and fire suppression," with two 5,000-gallon poly tanks now in service after demolition of a 20,000-gallon tank.

For single-family residential accounts, the proposed monthly base rate would rise from $54.61 to $95 in November 2026, then $105 in 2027, $115 in 2028, and $125 in November 2029. Consumption would switch from a flat $0.005519 per gallon to two tiers: $0.025 per gallon for the first 8,000 gallons in a two-month billing cycle in 2026-27, rising to $0.035 by November 2029, with a higher second tier for use above 8,000 gallons. Multifamily and commercial or short-term rental base rates would start higher still.

The study also proposes a $30 monthly affordability discount for eligible CARE or FERA households with a single residence and no secondary units. Example calculations in the notice show a single-family account using 5,000 gallons per two-month cycle rising from about $136.82 to $315 for that cycle under 2026 rates, a monthly difference of roughly $89.

Written protests that identify the parcel, state whether the signer is an owner or renter, and clearly protest a particular rate will be counted if received by the end of the Oct. 17 hearing; email protests will not. The district says it will not adopt the increase if written protests come from a majority of the parcels subject to the charge. Oral comments will be heard but not counted toward the majority-protest threshold.

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