Drought Water Rates End at Contra Costa Water District

Water rates for some 200,000 Central Contra Costa residents will drop in early June after the Contra Costa Water District board agreed Wednesday to end a temporary drought surcharge. With plenty of water this year, the water board decided there is no need to continue collecting the higher drought rate that was passed last summer to encourage saving.

The decision will reduce the typical water bill from $72 to $66 per month — a $6 decrease — for an average household using 320 gallons per day in the district’s treated water service area in Concord, Clayton, Clyde, and parts of Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill and Martinez.