Greenfield City Council votes to increase sewer rates to cover new wastewater treatment plant.

The City of Greenfield is at a crossroads when it comes to infrastructure and growth. The council recently took a drastic measure to prevent more stress on the city’s aging wastewater treatment plant by voting to pause any new construction within city limits until they develop a solution.

Looking toward solutions – specifically how to fund a $111.3 million replacement water treatment plant – on Oct. 14, the council unanimously voted to move forward with rate increases for sewer service.

“A new plant is not a want. It’s an urgent need,” Mayor Robert White said.

The vote triggers a process via Proposition 218, under which the city will send notices to property owners, who can weigh in for or against the new rates; if more than half object, the increases cannot take effect.

Greenfield has the second-lowest sewer rates in South County for 2026, behind Gonzales, at $63.36/month. The rate the council approved would make Greenfield the second highest, behind King City at $91.24/month.

Robert D. Niehaus, Inc., a consulting firm based in Santa Barbara that conducted a rate study for Greenfield, recommended increasing sewer rates and including a mix of fixed and variable fees, putting two options on the table. Both options have similar monthly rates starting in January, at a $34.99 fixed rate plus $11.25 per 1,000 gallons. By 2029, the rates would be more than double with $75.58 and $24.29, respectively.

For residential customers, typical single-family bills would increase from about $63/month to $91 in fiscal year 2026, according to a report to council. Non-residential bills, meanwhile, will vary based on actual water use.

In 2022, the City Council approved plans to build a new wastewater treatment plant with a discharge capacity of up to 2 million gallons per day, nearly double the current capacity of 1.2 million gallons.

The last time the city looked at sewer rate increases was 2023, when the dollar figures were lower because it was projected that the State Water Quality Grants would cover the new plant; however, this is no longer the case. “In order to continue to pursue any available grant or low-interest loans, the City must demonstrate that it has the financial resources to operate, maintain and meet the debt service obligations for any available grant or loan funding,” the staff report to council states.

To fulfill the new guidelines, the city conducted another sewer rate study this year and found the current system “requires significant financial restructuring.”

If property owners authorize the rate increase under Prop. 218, the city should be more competitive for funding for the new plant. (If approved, the new plant could be operational in 2029.)

Niehaus also recommended building all the plant’s phases at once, saving $29 million in phased construction fees.

The study also recommends adjusting connection fees. The current fee for a single-family residential unit to connect to the sewer system is $3,574; it would be more than double to $7,286, if the new fee structure is adopted.