IEUA plans brine-line cost reset as industrial customer base contracts
Inland Empire Utilities Agency, California · Meeting date: October 14, 2026 · Published: October 15, 2026
Inland Empire Utilities Agency has outlined a revised brine-line rate structure intended to align internal operating and administrative charges with each system's use of agency facilities. The proposal would substantially increase rates on the small Etiwanda Wastewater Line system while lowering the North System's allocated share of IEUA costs.
Key points
- IEUA plans to bring the rate structure, ordinance updates and implementing resolutions to its board in November; a public hearing is also planned.
- The proposed allocation would reduce the North System's share of IEUA operating and administrative costs from 86.1% to 78.7%, while raising the South System's share from 13.6% to 19.8% and the Etiwanda Wastewater Line's share from 0.3% to 1.5%.
- System-wide blended increases are projected at 54.5% for Etiwanda in fiscal 2026-27, 18.9% for the North System and 7.9% for the South System, with reserves proposed to smooth the first three years.
- IEUA said it has lost roughly one brine-line industry annually over the past decade, although flows from remaining customers are currently relatively steady and some prospective users are considering connections.
Full report
Inland Empire Utilities Agency is preparing a January 2027 overhaul of its brine-line rate structure that would move the South System and Etiwanda Wastewater Line away from an operating-cost formula tied to external agencies' charges and instead bill those users according to capacity-unit use of IEUA facilities.
The proposed change, presented to the Finance & Administration Committee on 14 October, is intended to make the allocation of IEUA's operating, maintenance and administrative costs more equitable across the three brine-line systems and provide more stable revenue. No action was taken at the committee meeting. Staff said it would return in November for consideration of the updated structure, related ordinance and resolution changes, and a public hearing.
Under the proposal, the North System would continue to bear the largest portion of IEUA internal costs, but its allocation would fall from 86.1% to 78.7%. The South System's portion would rise from 13.6% to 19.8%, while the Etiwanda Wastewater Line's share would increase from 0.3% to 1.5%.
The resulting system-wide blended rate increase for 2026-27 is projected at 18.9% in the North System, 54.5% for Etiwanda and 7.9% for the South System. The figures include both IEUA charges and pass-through costs from regional treatment providers. Individual bills will depend on each industry's flow, loading and capacity units.
For Etiwanda, projected total rate revenue would rise from about $61,000 in fiscal 2025-26 to roughly $155,000 by 2028-29. Staff said the large percentage increase reflects the line's small revenue base and its current minimal contribution toward IEUA internal costs. In the North System, the 2026-27 increase is driven largely by adopted Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts charges, while the changed allocation reduces the North System's IEUA cost share. South System increases principally reflect its larger proposed allocation of IEUA costs, alongside SAWPA-adopted increases in 2026-27 and 2027-28.
IEUA proposes using reserves over the first three years to phase in the changes for the South System and Etiwanda line. The North System would also receive reserve support during the initial three years. A new standby O&M charge for the North System, based on a three-year rolling average, is proposed to stabilise revenue; staff noted that the decline in the North System's standard O&M rate would not necessarily reduce overall bills.
The rate reset comes as the utility manages a shrinking industrial customer base. Manager of Environmental Services Ken Tam said IEUA has experienced a contraction of approximately one brine-line industry per year during the last decade. The agency currently has 32 industries on the North System, four on the Etiwanda line and 10 on the South System.
Survey and workshop feedback from users underscored the infrastructure's importance to their operations, but larger customers are assessing closed-loop systems, added treatment and water recycling to reduce brine-line loading or flows. Some also cited broader utility and environmental compliance costs. Tam said existing-industry flows are relatively steady, while a small number of industries are considering entering the system. IEUA has issued an RFP for a Brine Line Master Plan to assess future demand.
This summary was generated by AI based on the source document and may contain errors.
Source: Finance & Administration Committee Meeting - Oct 14, 2026, Inland Empire Utilities Agency