Your water is getting more expensive. The city of San Diego holds a public hearing on rate increases today. The city will also establish a citizens' group to oversee how the extra money is spent. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.
Mayor Jerry Sanders has promised to appoint 11 people to an independent rate oversight committee otherwise known as the "IRAC." Jim Puegh is the environmental nominee to the committee. He says the it will be important to spend the money wisely because the city's water and sewer pipe system is in such terrible shape.
Puegh: And one of the worst things about the pipe breaks is that the valves that control them is the valves that control them .. they can find a valve that will work frequently and so a pipe break that should be turned off in 20 minutes takes four hours and causes a lot more damage to the environment more damage to people's property and safety, and I hope the rate increase is enough to take care of those things a lot better.
This is the second water rate hike hearing this year for San Diego city residents. Deputy City Water Director Ed Greek says the last one was to fix the crumbling infrastructure. Today's is to cover the higher cost of water being piped into the region by the County.
Greek: If we didn't get this increase then something would have to give, you know. Because we would have less money to move our capital program forward because we would have to use the money we had intended for that to purchase water.
Today's hearing will also cover plans to save water at city-owned properties. State law already requires local government to have a conservation plan, but the law, AB 325, has been largely ignored until now.
Alison St John, KPBS News.
