Residents along the western shore of Lake Berryessa may start paying steep water and sewer bills beginning this summer.

This week, Napa County officials started sending notices announcing water and sewer rate increases to property owners of two separate utilities districts near the lake. Under state law, the hikes will not take effect if the majority of property owners in each district file a protest by June 16.

Napa County officials, who are contracted to run the two special districts — the Lake Berryessa Resort Improvement District and the Napa Berryessa Resort Improvement District — said new sources of revenue are needed to operate the aging water and sewer systems and meet increasingly stringent state and federal regulations of water and wastewater treatment plants.

The Napa County Board of Supervisors, acting as board of directors for both special districts, approved the new water and sewer rates on April 21.

Upper Putah Creek

Board members voted 3-1 to raise rates at the Lake Berryessa Resort Improvement District, an area that includes Berryessa Estates, a subdivision on the northwest shore of the lake.

Approximately 180 property owners who currently pay $1,176 a year for water and sewer services could pay $1,908 a year — a 62 percent increase effective July 1.

Director Diane Dillon voted against the higher rates, predicting residents would not be able to pay the bills and would move away. “I’m very concerned about the community,” she said.

But Napa County staff said the district does not have enough money to pay its bills and could become insolvent without the new revenues.

County officials wanted to make sure enough money would be available to repay a $95,000 county loan with the stipulation that it “diligently” evaluate the possible sale of the district’s water division to Cal Water, one of the largest private water utilities in the country.

Dillon unsuccessfully tried to delay the vote for another two weeks to study alternatives sources of funding, including imposing a new assessment on all properties in the district or having the new hikes be imposed as a tax-exempt assessment.

LBRID faces other financial hurdles, including a $400,000 fine imposed by state regulators in 2005 which has to be paid over a 10-year period.

The district’s aging pipes take on too much rain water and in late February, the district was forced to release 1.65 million gallons of treated wastewater into Stone Corral Creek, a tributary of Putah Creek, against the provisions of its permit.

The rate proposal drew strong reactions from Berryessa Estates residents, who have asked that the board find alternatives sources of revenue, including grants.

“I can’t afford the rates,” said Michelle Palmer, a technician at Napa State Hospital who faces unpaid work furloughs because of the state budget crisis.

Near Steele Park

About 350 households at Berryessa Highlands also could pay twice as much for water and sewer services beginning in Aug. 1.

The supervisors, acting as directors of the Napa Berryessa Resort Improvement District, voted on April 21 to hike water and sewer rates in the district, an area that includes Steele Park Resort and Berryessa Highlands east of Moskowite Corners. About 350 customers could pay as much as $1,973 a year for water and sewer services instead of $969, according to a Napa County analysis. The new rates could become effective Aug. 1.

The district has not been able to issue $14 million worth of bonds property owners approved in 2007 to pay for major repairs on the water and wastewater treatment systems because of uncertainty regarding the district’s biggest customer, Steele Park Resort.

CalWater is negotiating the possible purchase of the district’s water and sewer systems, along with the purchase of the water treatment and distribution system of the Lake Berryessa Resort Improvement District.

A probosal could come before the Board of Directors of both districts on May 19.

Rates are expected to increase at Berryessa Pines and in residential areas near Spanish Flat Resort, as well. Customers there receive water and sewer services from the Spanish Flat Water District, a special district that is not run by county officials.

Spanish Flat Water District on March 19 approved a rate increases of $15 each for water and sewer connection, affecting about 80 customers at Berryessa Pines and about 100 in residential areas near the Spanish Flat Resort.

Paul Quarneri, a part-time project manager for the district who lives across the street from the resort, said the district faces increasingly tight regulations. The district, which operates two new tanks at the two water treatment systems at Spanish Flat and Berryessa Pines, also does not receive revenues from its main customer — the Spanish Flat Resort, which closed last summer. When it reopens after the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation closes deals with new lakeside resort operators, Spanish Flat could welcome as many as 2,000 visitors on weekends during the summer months.

Ernie Turner, a Berryessa Pines resident, and others strongly questioned the news rates. The rates will become effective May 10 unless the majority of the property owners file written protests by May 7 with the district. Turner, who lives on a fixed income, estimates he will have to pay $140 a month instead of $110 for water and sewer services.

He and others want to protest the rate increases, though they had hoped the next meeting would be on a Saturday, when more people could attend. Regular board meetings are on Thursdays.

The May 7 hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Spanish Flat Water District’s office at the wastewater treatment plant at Spanish Flat, near the Monticello Cemetery.