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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Commitments
Water Supply Contracts
The Company has long-term commitments to purchase water from water wholesalers. The commitments are noted in the table below.
Water Supply
Contracts*
2024$33,362 
202532,708 
202632,712 
202732,713 
202832,709 
Thereafter435,518 
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*    Estimated annual contractual obligations are based on the same payment levels as 2023.
The Company has a long-term contract with Valley Water that requires the Company to purchase minimum annual water quantities. Purchases are priced at the districts then-current wholesale water rate. The Company operates to purchase sufficient water to equal or exceed the minimum quantities under the contract. The total paid to Valley Water was $12.6 million in 2023, $11.3 million in 2022, and $11.9 million in 2021.
The Company also has a water supply contract with Stockton East Water District (SEWD) that requires a fixed monthly payment. Each year, the fixed monthly payment is adjusted for changes to SEWD's costs. The total paid under the contract was $11.5 million in 2023, $15.3 million in 2022, and $12.9 million in 2021.
On September 21, 2005, the Company entered into an agreement with Kern County Water Agency (Agency) to obtain treated water for the Company's operations. The term of the agreement is to January 1, 2035, or until the repayment of the Agency's bonds (described hereafter) occurs. Under the terms of the agreement, the Company is obligated to purchase approximately 20,500 acre feet of treated water per year. The Company is obligated to pay the Capital Facilities Charge and the Treated Water Charge regardless of whether it can use the water in its operation, and is obligated for these charges even if the Agency cannot produce an adequate amount to supply the 20,500 acre feet in the year. This agreement supersedes a prior agreement with Kern County Water Agency for the supply of 11,500 acre feet of water per year.
Three other parties, including the City of Bakersfield, are also obligated to purchase a total of 32,500 acre feet per year under separate agreements with the Agency. Further, the Agency has the right to proportionally reduce the water supply provided to all of the participants if it cannot produce adequate supplies. If any of the other parties does not use its allocation, that party is obligated to pay its contracted amount.
If any of the parties were to default on making payments of the Capital Facilities Charge, then the other parties are obligated to pay for the defaulting party's share on a pro-rata basis. If there is a payment default by a party and the remaining parties have to make payments, they are also entitled to a pro-rata share of the defaulting party's water allocation.
The Company expects to use all its entitled water in its operations every year. In addition, if the Company were to pay for and receive additional amounts of water due to a default of another participating party; the Company believes it could use this additional water in its operations without incurring substantial incremental cost increases. If additional treated water is available, all parties have an option to purchase this additional treated water, subject to the Agency's right to allocate the water among the parties.
The total obligation of all parties, excluding the Company, is approximately $82.4 million to the Agency. Based on the credit worthiness of the other participants, which are government entities, it is believed to be highly unlikely that the Company would be required to assume any other parties' obligations under the contract due to their default.
The Company pays a capital facilities charge and charges related to treated water that together total $11.5 million annually, which equates to $560.22 dollars per acre foot. Total treated water charge for 2023 was $4.7 million. As treated water is being delivered, the Company will also be obligated for the Company's portion of the operating costs; that portion is currently estimated to be $51.69 dollars per acre foot. The actual amount will vary due to variations from estimates, inflation, and other changes in the cost structure. Our overall estimated cost of $560.22 dollars per acre foot is less than the estimated cost of procuring untreated water (assuming water rights could be obtained) and then providing treatment.
On August 16, 2022, BVRT Utility Holding Company (BVRT), a majority owned subsidiary of Texas Water, entered into a long-term water supply agreement with the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority (GBRA) through its wholly owned subsidiary, Camino Real Utility (Camino Real). The Company has provided a limited guarantee to GBRA for the agreed upon obligations. GBRA is a water conservation and reclamation district established by the Texas Legislature that oversees water resources for 10 counties. Under the terms of the agreement with GBRA, Camino Real is contracted to receive up to 2,419 acre-feet of potable water annually. The GBRA agreement involves four off-takers, including Camino Real, and GBRA plans to extend a potable water pipeline from the City of Lockhart to the City of Mustang Ridge and surrounding areas. Camino Real is contracted to be the utility service provider in this area of the Austin metropolitan region and to provide potable water, recycled water, and wastewater services to portions of the City of Mustang Ridge and surrounding areas. In 2022, Camino Real committed $21.5 million for its share of the cost of the pipeline project. In 2023, Camino Real committed an additional $22.3 million for its share of the cost of the pipeline project. As of December 31, 2023, this committed cash has not been transferred to GBRA and is classified as part of restricted cash on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company currently expects this committed cash to be transferred to GBRA in the first half of 2024.
Leases
The Company has operating and finance leases for water systems, offices, land easements, licenses, equipment, and other facilities. The leases generally have remaining lease terms of 1 year to 50 years, some of which include options to extend the lease for up to 25 years. The exercise of lease renewal options is at the Company’s sole discretion. Most of the Company’s lease agreements contain mutual termination options that require prior written notice by either lessee or lessor. The Company’s lease agreements do not contain any material residual value guarantees or material restrictive covenants. Certain leases include options to purchase the leased property. The depreciable life of the assets and leasehold improvements are limited by the expected lease term, unless there is a transfer of title or purchase option that is reasonably certain of exercise. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the consolidated balance sheet as the Company applied the short-term lease exception allowed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board guidance. Lease expense for these leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. A subset of the Company’s leases contains variable lease payments that depend on changes in the CPI.
The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at contract inception. Generally, a lease agreement exists if the Company determines that the arrangement gives the Company control over the use of an identified asset and obtains substantially all of the benefits from the identified asset.
The right-of-use (ROU) assets that are recorded represent the Company’s right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent the Company’s obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Lease ROU assets and liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. As most of the Company’s operating leases do not provide an implicit rate, the Company uses an incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. The ROU asset and lease liability may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option. Variable lease payments that are based on changes in CPI are included in the measurement of ROU asset and lease liability on the basis of the rate at lease commencement. Subsequent changes to the payments as a result of changes to the CPI rate are recognized in the period in which the obligation of these payments is incurred.
Supplemental balance sheet information related to leases was as follows:
As of December 31, 2023As of December 31, 2022
Operating leases
Other assets: Other$13,387 $14,762 
Other accrued liabilities$962 $1,065 
Other long-term liabilities12,605 13,838 
Total operating lease liabilities$13,567 $14,903 
Finance leases
Depreciable plant and equipment$19,087 $19,820 
Accumulated depreciation and amortization(14,339)(14,017)
Net utility plant$4,748 $5,803 
Current maturities of long-term debt, net$844 $2,555 
Long-term debt, net3,057 2,675 
Total finance lease liabilities$3,901 $5,230 
Weighted average remaining lease term
Operating leases112 months119 months
Finance leases29 months32 months
Weighted average discount rate
Operating leases3.6 %3.5 %
Finance leases5.5 %4.4 %
The components of lease expense were as follows:
20232022
Operating lease cost$2,520 $2,514 
Finance lease cost:
Amortization of right-of-use assets$1,609 $1,606 
Interest on lease liabilities190 246 
Total finance lease cost$1,799 $1,852 
Short-term lease cost$1,442 $2,101 
Variable lease cost549 519 
Total lease cost$6,310 $6,986 
Supplemental cash flow information related to leases was as follows:
20232022
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities:
Operating cash flows from operating leases$2,534 $2,498 
Operating cash flows from finance leases$190 $246 
Financing cash flows from finance leases$1,400 $824 
Non-cash activities: right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations:
Operating leases$558 $1,634 
Finance leases$(61)$326 
Maturities of lease liabilities as of December 31, 2023 are as follows:
Year Ending December 31,Operating LeasesFinance Leases
2024$2,244 $1,034 
20251,956 2,505 
20261,740 705 
20271,547 — 
20281,460 — 
Thereafter6,744 — 
Total lease payments15,691 4,244 
Less imputed interest(2,124)(343)
Total$13,567 $3,901 
Contingencies
Groundwater Contamination
The Company has undertaken litigation against third parties to recover past and future costs related to ground-water contamination in our service areas. The cost of litigation is generally expensed as incurred and any settlement is first offset against such costs. The CPUC's general policy requires all proceeds from contamination litigation to be used first to pay transactional expenses, then to make customers whole for water treatment costs to comply with the CPUC's water quality standards. The CPUC allows for a risk-based consideration of contamination proceeds which exceed the costs of the remediation described above and may result in some sharing of proceeds with the shareholder, determined on a case-by-case basis. The CPUC has authorized various memorandum accounts that allow the Company to track significant litigation costs to request recovery of these costs in future filings and uses of proceeds to comply with CPUC's general policy.
Other Legal Matters
From time to time, the Company is involved in various disputes and litigation matters that arise in the ordinary course of business. The status of each significant matter is reviewed and assessed for potential financial exposure. If the potential loss from any claim or legal proceeding is considered probable and the amount of the range of loss can be estimated, a liability is accrued for the estimated loss in accordance with the accounting standards for contingencies. Legal proceedings are subject to uncertainties, and the outcomes are difficult to predict. Because of such uncertainties, accruals are based on the best information available at the time. While the outcome of these disputes and litigation matters cannot be predicted with any certainty, management does not believe when taking into account existing reserves the ultimate resolution of these matters will materially affect the Company's financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. The Company has recognized a liability of $6.0 million for all known legal matters as of December 31, 2023 primarily due to potable water main leaks and other work related legal matters. The cost of litigation is expensed as incurred and any settlement is first offset against such costs. Any settlement in excess of the cost to litigate is accounted for on a case-by-case basis, dependent on the nature of the settlement.