20220802Comments(11)_11.pdf

From:PUCWeb Notification
To:Jan Noriyuki
Subject:Notice: A comment was submitted to PUCWeb
Date:Tuesday, August 2, 2022 9:00:06 AM
The following comment was submitted via PUCWeb:
Name: Richard Lane
Submission Time: Aug 2 2022 8:31AMEmail: [e-mail]
Telephone: [phone]Address: 32324 N. Priest River Dr.
Spirit Lake, ID 83869
Name of Utility Company: Gem State Water
Case ID: GSW-W-22-01
Comment: "Re : CASE NO. GSW-W-22-01 (Gem State Water Rate increase) Dear Sirs andMadams. I am writing you to express my families concern/s over the water rate increase
proposal by Gem State Water Co. We believe this proposed rate increase is too excessive overthe course of just one year and it targets ALL water users not just the heavy users like it
should. In our case (1 inch meter) $25/month/8000 gal increasing to $35/month/8000 gal andthe above-min rates are like >2X increase. Not so Fun-Fact : As I see this, under this rate
increase proposal, all homeowners that currently have a 1.5 inch meter are in grave trouble ; Icannot imagine paying $70/month for 20,000 gal in the winter/fall months (as apposed to
$25.55/month for 8000 gal) when our household may only consume 4-5 thousand gallonsduring the Fall/Winter months. One would be paying for goods they never used for those
Fall/Winter months. IMHO, this is ludicrous. Ironically, the other day, my wife and I werediscussing ways to help conserve on both water usage and water above-min fees due to the
extreme hot summers we have been experiencing within the past several summers. Dry-scapelandscaping and water timers were just some of our proposals. At that very same point in time
our USPS mail arrived and within minutes our good intentions were then quickly dashed whenwe opened the water rate proposal letter from GSW. The increase in the base will now look
like a hot month above-min charge @ 12 months/year. In addition, the proposed extremeabove-min rates that are double (from the current rate) are too much for my family to prosper
where we all have been born and raised. Now, going forward, my family and my hand's aretied and no effort/s on our part can help now. It's a no-win, futile situation to manage to reduce
our water usage costs under the proposed increase. Property tax increases, food costs, fuelcosts and the list keeps going ; where does this all end? In today's drought crisis climate that is
occurring throughout the West and South West I believe water companies should (now)design-in consumer incentives to reduce water usage and by exercising/educating more
responsible use methods. In addition, up here in N. Idaho (this is not California, Arizona or thelike) there is snow/ice on the ground for (sometimes) 6 months/year resulting in very low
water consumption from homeowners and to charge summer type water rates during theWinter/Fall months is what I call fleecing or over-charging the consumers. In my humble
opinion, I believe that GSW wants a GUARENTEE for increased revenue NOT by justincreasing the above-min rates but the base rates as well ; this way, GSW targets ALL water
users, including those (like my family) that are trying to conserve for the environment but alsohousehold costs. If GSW were to just simply increase the above-min rates (in an effort to
increase revenue) then users would conserve and reduce in a effort to stay below said above-min base rate resulting in no/low increase revenue for GSW. So, lets increase both the base
rates as well a the above-min rates ; this way, ALL users are trapped. In closing. I respectfully request that the Idaho Public Utilities either deny GSW's rate increase or perhaps, modify the
current proposal and put in place methods to address the heavy water users (only) and also install provisions for the winter/fall months. Respectfully, Richard S Lane (Spirit Lake East
Lot 168) 208-659-2575"
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From:PUCWeb Notification
To:Jan Noriyuki
Subject:Notice: A comment was submitted to PUCWeb
Date:Tuesday, August 2, 2022 2:00:07 PM
The following comments were submitted via PUCWeb:
Name: Victoria Dickinson
Submission Time: Aug 2 2022 1:30PMEmail: [e-mail]
Telephone: [phone]Address: 30260 N Silver Meadows Loop
Athol, ID 83801
Name of Utility Company: Gem State Water
Case ID: GSW-W-22-01
Comment: "An increase of 135% is outrageous and irresponsible. Please reconsider this request by Gem State Water for Bitterroot customers. With notifications of substandard water,
such an increase seems over the top and inexcusable. Thank you."
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Name: Konrad WeitzeilSubmission Time: Aug 2 2022 1:05PM
Email: [e-mail]: 916-955-9370
Address: 9969 W Coeur D Alene DrSpirit Lake, ID 83869
Name of Utility Company: Gem State Water
Case ID: GSW-W-22-01
Comment: "I just received the letter from Gem State Water. I do not support the approval of
this rate increase for several reasons. 1. I do not need 20,000 gallons of water a month, I do not even use the 8000 gallons that I am allotted. I think I went over once during construction.
2. The letter stated that my current rate is $41.86. It is not, my current rate is $25.55 which would make the increase 200%. 3. If they need to increase revenues then they should target the
people that are constantly using too much water. There is no need to just make a large increase for everyone that are doing there part trying to conserve water. Please do not approve this rate
increase, it is unwarranted and is punishing the little guy"
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From:PUCWeb Notification
To:Jan Noriyuki
Subject:Notice: A comment was submitted to PUCWeb
Date:Monday, August 1, 2022 5:00:07 PM
The following comments were submitted via PUCWeb:
Name: David Olson
Submission Time: Aug 1 2022 4:39PMEmail: [e-mail]
Telephone: [phone]Address: 34270 N Hayden Dr
Spirit Lake, ID 83869
Name of Utility Company: Gem State Water
Case ID: GSW-W-22-01
Comment: "Dear Utilities Commission- I am writing in hopes that you will oppose GemState’s Water proposed increase. In my area, Spirit Lake East, they are trying to get a 62%
increase in water fees. In my mind, this is a money grab. They are trying to play the inflationgame and thereby using that as an excuse to increase fees. Inflation is currently at around 10%.
If they had asked for a 20% increase based on that, I’d be upset, but would not be writing youa letter. 62% seems absurd. Furthermore, they are increasing our base usage from 8000 gallons
to 20,000 gallons. I would guess that no one uses that much water monthly in this area. WeNEVER have an overage 9 months out of the year. If they want to increase rates for overages,
then that would be understandable. But by doing it their proposed way they’re increasing theirmoney intake at more than 6 times the rate of inflation. Please protect the consumers from this
outrageous plan. Sincerely, David Olson "
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Name: Jason LundySubmission Time: Aug 1 2022 4:34PM
Email: [e-mail]: 253-254-3096
Address: 254 East Chilco RoadRathdrum, ID 83858
Name of Utility Company: Gem State Water
Case ID: GSW-W-22-01
Comment: "I received a letter stating that Gem State water is requesting rate increases. I
would like to state that I have called dozens of times over the past 2 years and asked for ourwater pressure to be fixed as it is barely enough to even have a shower, let alone run any sort
of appliance. Our service is sub par to say the least and there is absolutely no way we shouldbe paying MORE money considering the water pressure we have now wouldn't even pass a
home inspection. Please feel free to email me or call me with any questions or need for furtherdetail. Again, this has been an ongoing constant issue that has not been remedied or even
addressed. "
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Name: Tim Burke Submission Time: Aug 1 2022 4:08PM
Email: [e-mail]: 925-890-6280
Address: 18496 N. Ramsey Rd Rathdrum , ID 83858
Name of Utility Company: Gem State Water Company
Case ID: GSW-W-22-01
Comment: "I believe the rate increases asked for by Gem Water Company are excessive and
overreaching especially during our current economic recession. Gem Water Company is a forprofit organization who recently bought the water rights to this area, expanding their business
interests and placing gross hardship on the backs of mostly retired persons by asking yourcommission for massive rate increases. Please review their filing carefully and reject or at the
least reduce its demand. Sincerely, Tim Burke "
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Name: David WagnerSubmission Time: Aug 1 2022 4:28PM
Email: [e-mail]: 208-699-8117
Address: 4765 N Troy St.Coeur D'Alene, ID 83815
Name of Utility Company: Gem State Water Co.
Case ID: GSW-W-22-01
Comment: "To whom it might concern on 7/29 I received a letter from Gem State Water Co.
requesting a 68% rate increase. I'm not opposed to modest rate increases to cover the cost ofoperation and maintenance of equipment. However, last year when we had a power outage in
our area, we were also left without running water. I called Gem State Water sometime after theoutage to inquire what they had set up in the event of an emergency. I was told there were no
measures in place and there were no plans for any. I was told it was up to me to have anemergency supply of water in storage. While I don't disagree, how much should I store? a
gallon? a hundred gallons? How much does a family need to drink, cook with, bathe, to flushhuman waste down the toilet? The woman I talked to was rude, unempathetic, and
condescending as I asked about the possibility of having a standby generator installed at thepump house, she assured me that was not going to happen. I would encourage the IPUC to
deny the request of the rate increase Gem State is seeking until they can provide proof of aguaranteed and adequate supply of water in such an event as a power outage or other natural
event that may affect our supply of water. Water is a basic human need for survival as well assanitation and to prevent the spread of disease and illness. For a water company to deny their
customer base the assurance of a basic need such as water is an unconscionable act. And shouldn't be tolerated by any state governing agency. I would like to see it be a mandatory
requirement that any company providing water to any municipality have a means to operate their equipment in the event of a power outage. either caused by a natural event or a planned
outage. Regards, David Wagner "
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From:PUCWeb Notification
To:Jan Noriyuki
Subject:Notice: A comment was submitted to PUCWeb
Date:Tuesday, August 2, 2022 7:00:07 AM
The following comments were submitted via PUCWeb:
Name: Paul Skinner
Submission Time: Aug 1 2022 6:32PMEmail: [e-mail]
Telephone: [phone]Address: 29257 N Silver Meadows Loop
Athol, ID 83801-8588
Name of Utility Company: Gem State Water
Case ID: GSW-W-22-01
Comment: "Good morning, I am requesting an open forum in Athol Idaho regarding therequest of Gem State Water to raise our rates, I have been communicating with residents
affected by this request and we are extremely unhappy. The issues concerning us per monthrate change, gallons per month reduction from 15K to 10K, before new rate per gallon kicks
in, the charges Gem State Water has outlined are in question, respectfully we need thecommission to dig into this request and provide the open forum here in Athol. In our
community, we only use June, July, August, September, (4) months for watering our lawns,flowers, trees. The request acts as though usage is a year around demand, the water company
does not read meters during the off months (8) since they are snow covered, for this periodthey send a monthly bill at the base rate and when meters are first read usually in May, if there
is any overage a bill is sent with those details. From my descriptions on operation this requestis way out of line for the service provided. Thank you, Paul & Deborah Skinner"
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Name: Don and Cindy Murphy
Submission Time: Aug 2 2022 12:20AMEmail: [e-mail]
Telephone: [phone]Address: 9067 W Coeur dAlene Drive
Spirit lake, ID 83869
Name of Utility Company: Gem State Water
Case ID: GSW-W-22-01
Comment: "We wish to challenge the rate increase that Gem State wants. The rate of $41.86Gem State shows on the letter they sent us is not what we pay. We pay $25.55 per mo for up
to 8,000 gal. We very rarely pay more than $25.55. Raising the rate to $70.70 is totallyunjustified. For us that would be a 277% increase. Many in SLE are on a fixed income. That
much of an increase would be a real hardship. No way should they be granted that much of anincrease. Thank you, Don and Cindy Murphy"
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Name: Dominic AciaSubmission Time: Aug 1 2022 6:49PMEmail: [e-mail]: 208-416-1014Address: 5876 W Emmanual AveRathdrum, ID 83858
Name of Utility Company: Gem State Water
Case ID: GSW-W-22-01
Comment: "Just received notice that they filed to raise our water rate by 82% while also reducing our allotment by nearly half. This is absurd. They have shown no commitment to their customers and have made to attempts to improve or update the system. They say "recover cost of operating and maintaining the water systems". There have been no attempts to improve the system. The system is STILL not backed by a generator, nor does it have a tower, and a power outage instantly results in a loss of water to all the homes. This is a money grab and nothing more. Inflation is 10-15%, not 82%. Tell them to take a hike, please. "
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Name: Susan NiegelSubmission Time: Aug 1 2022 9:53PMEmail: [e-mail]: 208-623-2392Address: 34204 N Saint Joe DrSpirit Lake, ID 83869
Name of Utility Company: Gem State Water
Case ID: GSW-W-22-01
Comment: " Hello, My husband, Ernie, and I received a notice of the rate increase request from our water company Gem State Water. We live in Spirit Lake East. My only comment and concern is that it states our current rate as $41.86 per month. This is incorrect. Our current rate is $25.55 per month. If they are requesting a 69% increase as stated on their application to you, then our proposed rate should be $43.18 not the proposed rate of $70.70. I trust the PUC will adjust our rate accordingly when you review the application from Gem State Water. Thank you, Sue Niegel"------