OCSD Sewer Service Fee Rebate Program

OCSD Sewer User Fee Fee is placed on the secured property tax bill with our customer service line 714-593-7281 This customer service line rings at 4 desks, 1 Supervisor and 3 staff members. It is a roll over line, so unless all 4 people are on the phone, our customers do not get a busy signal. The Orange County Tax-Collector and the Orange County Auditor-Controller’s office both direct our customers to this customer service line if their offices receive phone calls regarding our fees.

Non-Residential Sewer User Fee Use Code Percentage of SFR Equivalent Rate per Thousand Sqaure Feet of Improvements Gross Square Footage OCSD Sewer User Fee Nursing Home (060) 102% $322 SFR $328 53,775 $17,662 Office Buildling (065) 41% $322 SFR $132 12,096 $1,597 Warehouse (111) 17% $316 SFR $54 55,856 $3,001 Restaurant (077) 600% $316 SFR $1,896 3,204 $6,075 We have approximately 50,000 non-residential customers. The non-residential sewer user fee is based upon the use code and gross square footage of the improvements located on the parcel. Each use code is charged a rate per thousand square feet of improvements. The rate is a percentage of the single family residential rate. For example…

Non-Residential Rebate OCSD Sewer User Fee Use Code Fee Based Upon Actual Water Consumption Rebate Amount $ 17,662 Nursing Home (060) $ 16,187 $ 1,475 $ 1,597 Office Buildling (065) $ 1,085 $ 512 $ 3,001 Warehouse (111) $ 1,722 $ 1,279 $ 6,075 Restaurant (077) $ 2,233 $ 3,842

OCSD External Website The OCSD external website provides our customers with information regarding our fees as well as the same customer service line phone number that is on the property tax bill. When non-residential customers call our customer service line, staff informs them of the rebate program and explains the process to them.

Sewer Fee Claim Forms Our Claim forms as well as links to our ordinances are on our external website.

Proposition 218 Notifications We include information regarding our rebate program on our Prop 218 notifications that are mailed out to all of our customers. These are scheduled to be mailed out around January of 2018.

Historical Rebate Claim Submittals Fiscal Year Claims Received Adjusted Denied Amount of Rebates 2008/09 1,166 1,054 74 90% $ 6,519,510 2009/10 1,433 1,365 66 95% $ 8,715,321 2010/11 1,409 1,154 82% $10,233,350 2011/12 2,044 1,534 61 75% $14,595,951 2012/13 2,325 1,010 77 43% $ 7,073,122 2013/14 2,319 2,394 142 103% $17,133,690 2014/15 3,037 3,794 297 125% $26,566,135 2015/16 3,488 2,682 306 77% $15,165,471 67% increase in claim submittals from 2008/09 2014/15 – we had additional temporary staff assisting with claims. Currently we deny approximately 10% of the claims received. We have approximately 8 to 10 of third party agents who submit claims. Approximately 80% of our claims come from these agents while approximately 20% come directly from our customers. Anytime that staff has contact with a customer, we educate them on the process and that they do not need a third party agent to file the claim. Of the 80% of claims that come from third party agents, 90% come from one of 4 major companies (REG, MATAX, CRTG and CMS).

Questions?

Fee Based Upon Actual Water Consumption Rebate Calculation OCSD Sewer User Fee Use Code Fee Based Upon Actual Water Consumption Rebate Amount $ 17,661.86 Nursing Home (060) $ 16,186.66 $ 1,475.20 BOD FEE = BOD (216 mgl)*8.34*Annual Flow (4.262104) * $622.73= $4,781.27 1,000   SS FEE = SS (238 mgl) *8.34 * Annual Flow (4.262104) * $613.38= $5,189.15 Flow Fee = Annual Flow (4.262104) * $1,458.49 = $6,216.24 8.34 is the conversion factor from milligram per liter to pounds. Annual Flow is in million gallons. The sum of these three fees is the total Sewer Service Fee. $4,781.27 + $5,189.15 + $6,216.24 = $16,186.66 We have three constituents that we evaluate for wastewater charges: Flow, biochemical oxygen demand and suspended solids. We have a rate for BOD and TSS per thousand pounds and a rate for Flow per million gallons. OCSD offers a refund for all of our customers. The rebate program is for non-residential customers only. If customer believes an error has been made in billing by OCSD using an incorrect use code or incorrect gross square footage, the customer may apply for a refund. If a non-residential customer believes that they discharge less than the average of their particular use code, then the customer may apply for a rebate by completing the claim form and submitting their actual water bills. Refunds are eligible for current year and 3 years back while rebates are eligible for the current year and one year back. The minimum fee that any user can pay for our services is the sfr rate (currently $327). This eliminates residential users from the rebate program. When a non-residential customer submits a rebate claim, we use their actual water consumption to calculate the fee. If the fee based upon actual water consumption is less than the fee based upon use code and square footage, then a rebate is approved.