The San Diego County Water Authority announced Thursday that staff is recommending a 3.7 percent hike in the amount of money local cities and districts pay for water in the 2018 calendar year.
The authority said most of the increase was due to the price of imported water from the Metropolitan Water District, the primary wholesaler in California, and Colorado River.
RELATED: San Diego County Water Authority, Coastkeeper Trade Barbs Over Conservation
The SDCWA takes imported water and collected local rainfall and distributes it to local agencies like the city of San Diego, Helix Water District and the like, which sends the product on to homes and businesses.
"Prudent investments in our own water supplies helped our region withstand the recent five-year drought and emerge from it with even greater water supply reliability, and we are continuing to strengthen that reliability to sustain our region's $222 billion economy and 3.3 million people," said Maureen Stapleton, general manager of the Water Authority.
"Thanks to prudent financial planning and debt management, we are accomplishing this while proposing only a modest increase for next year."
RELATED: San Diego Water Rate Dispute Heads Back To Court
The proposed 2018 rates will be presented to the Water Authority Board at its May 25 meeting. A public hearing, and potential adoption, is scheduled for June 22.
