The politically sticky issue of whether to raise water rates on San Diegans will face members of the City Council when they resume meetings next week following a five-week break.
The city's Public Utilities Department has suggested increasing rates to customers by 9.8 percent beginning in January, and an additional 6.9 percent July 1. The plan is based on a cost-of-service study.
The City Council will take up the proposal Tuesday afternoon but isn't scheduled to make a final decision until November. The members are being asked to schedule a future public hearing on the rate hikes or return them to staff to make changes.
The proposed hikes would balance a combination of lower revenues as customers reduce consumption amid the drought, and higher expenses. Among the extra costs cited by the department:
- the climbing price of importing water from the main water wholesaler in Southern California, the Metropolitan Water District, via the San Diego County Water Authority;
- the high cost of water received from the Carlsbad desalination plant, which is scheduled to begin deliveries this fall;
- the implementation of the city's program to recycle water into drinking water;
- replacing aging infrastructure; and
- installing high-tech water meters.
A residential customer whose monthly bill is now around $36 would see a hike to a little over $39, according to a city report. Customers now paying $71 would see their bills go above $77.
The department's proposal also includes possible rate hikes in 2017, 2018 and 2019, based on projections of future costs for imported water, which makes up 85 percent of the city's total.
The council's Environment Committee voted to kick the issue up to the full council without recommending approval.
Councilman Chris Cate said the current rate structure fails to reward customers for conservation and isn't a reliable source of funding for Water Utilities.
In a late-August memo to the council, PUD Director Halla Razak said the city is represented on a state working group that's trying to design rate structures that are fair for customers who conserve water.
The City Council last voted to raise water rates in November 2013, when the hike was more than 7 percent. However, a department presentation says the average monthly bill of $70.81 is below the average of the various water districts in San Diego County, which is just over $78.
At its first meeting after the break on Monday, the council will also consider a proposed response to a county grand jury report on the San Diego Convention Center.
