‘H2O’ Program Aims to Ease Burden of Water Bills for the Poor
Four months after increasing water rates, the San Diego City Council on Tuesday approved a program to help poor water customers pay their bills. The program, branded Help to Others, or H2O, would solicit tax-deductible donations from ratepayers through their water bills. That money would subsidize the water bills of low-income San Diegans.
The program has to be voluntary because of a state law that requires utilities to charge their customers no more than the actual cost of service.