CCWD Previews $285M Budget as Canal Replacement, Golden Mussels Drive Costs Higher

The Contra Costa Water District Board of Directors used its June 3 meeting to take the first deep look at a two-year spending plan that would raise treated water rates 6% annually, add nearly eight full-time positions, and pour roughly $140 million into capital projects — all while grappling with invasive golden mussels, surging chemical prices, and a decades-old canal that needs replacing. The board also held a public hearing on a water management plan that projects supply shortfalls in extended droughts sooner than previously expected, and approved more than $2 million in contracts and budget transfers.

• $285M biennial budget projects 6% treated water rate increases and nearly eight new staff positions, driven largely by the Canal Replacement Program and external mandates

• Water management plan warns supply deficits could hit by 2030 in multi-year droughts; demand projections fall 16% below 2020 estimates

• $850,000 mid-year chemical budget transfer approved as Randall Bold conversion and golden mussel treatment push costs higher

• Final $1.34M storm damage repair contract from 2022-23 winters awarded, with 94% federal/state reimbursement expected

• GM announces meeting with Department of Interior official to pitch federal funding for canal replacement

Eight department heads walked the board through the proposed FY27-28 biennial budget in a presentation that consumed the bulk of the meeting — more than 100 minutes of detailed fiscal review ahead of a scheduled June 17 adoption vote.