The Wastewater User Classification Study was undertaken by the City of Glendale to reclassify non-residential wastewater system users for the purpose of developing an equitable wastewater system user rate schedule. The project included the development of a single-family residential irrigation fee cap, a field survey of 7,100 non-residential wastewater and electric customers, the development of an equitable wastewater system user rate schedule and recommendations for maintaining current user classification data in the Cityºs database.
Dean Ryan conducted the field survey portion of the project requiring approximately twenty (20) field surveyors and three (3) managers. Surveyors conducted personal interviews with each of the 7,100 businesses and collected information such as business type and size, profile of employees, space utilization, and number and type of water fixtures. Data collected during the survey was used to classify each business according to a three digit Standard Industrial Group (SIG).
Users were distributed into rate groups having similar wastewater characteristics using the SIG data obtained from Dean RyanÃs field survey. Wastewater services costs were identified, according to flow and quality parameters, and user charges computed. Dean Ryan developed an equitable user rate schedule to recoup fixed and variable costs associated with the operation of the Cityºs wastewater system.