Why is this important?
Infrastructure forms the backbone of a community. It consists of
the facilities and services needed to sustain industry, residential,
commercial, and all other land use activities.
What is the measure?
We focused our indicators on water and sewer connections, water
rates, sewage and disposal rates. Renewable energy sources are addressed
in the Natural Resources and Recreation chapter.
How are we doing?
The cost of providing water service to the community has increased
for all service providers. All providers raised monthly rates 5%
to 15%, and half of the providers raised connection fees up to 37%.
Rate and fee changes were to cover increased costs due to additional
requirements from State and Federal regulators, material and supply
costs and employee costs.
The charge for sewer service has also increased. Providers increased
their monthly rate by 6.5% to 75%. The connection fee increased for
two providers by up to 50%. The cause for the increases is the same
as for the water providers with a greater impact being felt from
State regulation changes.
We have no natural gas service in Tuolumne County. Propane, which
is more expensive than natural gas, is used as an alternative energy
source to electricity. Eight companies provide propane gas service
in Tuolumne County. The cost of propane follows oil prices.
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