Understanding Your Bill
WATER AVAILABILITY ASSESSMENT
The Water Availability Assessment (also referred to as the “29 Palms Water Standby”) on your San Bernardino County property tax bill, helps pay the costs* incurred by the District to make water available (for any purpose), whether it is used or not. This assessment is levied on all parcels within the District except those with “fire only” service or those owned by the Bureau of Land Management.
Current water availability assessments: $30 for parcels of 1 acre or less, plus $8 for each additional acre up to 5 acres or $7.50 for each acre over 5 acres, to a maximum of $1,200 per parcel. The water availability assessment is authorized by California Water Codes 31031.7 and 31032. Additional information is available in Resolution 22-06.
Each June, the Board of Directors holds a public hearing at the District office to discuss the water availability assessment. A report regarding any proposed changes to the water availability assessment is available for public viewing during businesses hours prior to the hearing.
Property owners may mail written protests to the District. The public is invited to attend the hearing, when the Board will consider all objections or protests. After the hearing, a proposal is made to place the assessment on the San Bernardino County tax bill to be paid by property owners with their general taxes. Property tax bills are generally mailed in August/September. Payments can be made to the County Treasurer in two installments.
*These are capital costs or operation and maintenance expenses incurred while serving water for domestic consumption and property-related purposes, among others.
Please Note: The San Bernardino County Treasurer-Tax Collector charges 30 cents per parcel as a collection fee. The District does not receive any portion of this fee. For questions regarding other items on your property tax bill, visit the San Bernardino County Treasurer-Tax Collector’s web site at mytaxcollector.com, or call 909-387-8308.
PRIOR BALANCE
Prior Balance refers to unpaid charges from a previous bill or unused credits. Unpaid charges are most commonly delinquent penalties that occurred after a payment was mailed, a balance due from a prior account with the District that remained unpaid after 30 days, a returned check charge, or an unpaid fee. Unused credits usually stem from overpayment or an adjustment.
METER READING
Valuable information about water use and leaks can be gathered from reading your meter. Most meters are located near the curb in front of your home, under a concrete or plastic lid. When removing the lid, examine the area around the meter to make sure there are no harmful insects or animals inside. To track daily use, read and record the numbers on the dial for at least two consecutive days. Subtracting the previous day’s reading from the current reading shows how many cubic feet of water were used. To figure the number of gallons, multiply the number of cubic feet by 7.48.To check for leaks, observe the large sweep or test hand for at least 15 minutes with all water to the home turned off. If there is any movement, there is a leak.
PAY METER INFORMATION
The station is set-up with (1) 2 inch Female Iron Pipe connection (typically the large token users) and (1) 1 inch Female Iron Pipe connection (typically the small token users). The price per gallon is $0.0100 (less than a penny per gallon).
The following is a list and cost of some typical loads that are taken from the station:
- 2,000 gallons will cost $20.00
- 1,000 gallons will cost $10.00
- 500 gallons will cost $ 5.00
- 50 gallons will cost $ .50