Water District Earns Clean Audit, Eyes Rate Review as Sales Lag

The Coastside County Water District's board covered a lot of ground on Jan. 13 — accepting a spotless financial audit, green-lighting $166,000 in engineering contracts for aging pipeline replacements, and beginning to build a political lobbying arm that could reshape how the small district fights for resources in Sacramento. Beneath the procedural calm, though, a tension is building: water sales are running below budget after a cool summer, and board members are already asking whether the third year of a three-year rate plan will hold.

• Clean FY2025 audit shows $2.7M gain in net position; auditor calls the district a "model" agency

• Below-budget water sales drive operating shortfall, offset by $476K in supply savings — but rate review may loom this summer

• $66K pipeline design contract bundles three Miramar-area street replacements; one board member recuses over proximity conflict

• Christmas Eve windstorm totaled a district truck and knocked out a backup generator; staff scrambled on Christmas Day to restore water service

• New government relations committee proposed to pursue grants and lobby Sacramento; formal action tabled to February

• Pilarcitos Reservoir at just 56% capacity — far below every other SFPUC reservoir — raising long-term supply alarms

Why it matters: A clean audit is table stakes for a public agency, but the details underneath it reveal how the district's revenue picture is shifting — and where new costs are landing.