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A busy agenda for Tuesday night’s City Council meeting includes a public hearing on proposed water and sewer rate hikes and a negotiating agreement with two developers interested in building within Poway Road’s newly-designated Town Center. The council is proposing water rate increases of 3.5 percent for water use and 5.5 percent for the fixed water meter charge. Sewer rates are proposed to increase by 4.5 percent and the fixed sewer charge is slated to rise by 4.75 percent.

Academics, advocates and activists met for a panel discussion at UC Irvine to hash out the pros and cons of a proposal to build a desalination plant in Huntington Beach, with environmentalists once again warning it would damage marine environments and raise water bills. “There is nothing simple about desalination,” said panelist Ray Hiemstra, associate director of Orange County Coastkeeper, an environmental organization focused on water quality. Coastkeeper went to court in November to challenge approval for the project granted in October by the State Lands Commission. Additional approvals still need to be secured for construction to begin.

The Coachella Valley’s biggest water district recycles wastewater at three of its six sewage treatment plants, churning out water to irrigate golf courses, parks and lawns at housing developments. Now it’s proposing to reuse more water by converting a sewage plant in Thermal to a water-recycling plant. Environmentalists are objecting to the Coachella Valley Water District’s proposal, saying it would reduce the flow of water into the Salton Sea and eliminate an important source for wetlands that are planned to be built on the north shore of the shrinking lake.

Taking advantage of a break in the weather, crews from San Diego Gas & Electric on Friday made headway in restoring power to customers who had been shut off in the wake of deadly wildfire conditions. As of 5 p.m., the utility reported 9,470 customers were back online after SDG&E crews patrolled power lines serving portions of East Ramona, Pala Mesa, Viejas and Sunrise Highway. Earlier in the day, crews brought back power to portions of Alpine, Bonsall and Rainbow.

The year-end fires sweeping Southern California this week have raised a worrisome question: Where is the rain?The rainy season typically starts in October and lasts through April, with the heaviest rain coming from December through March. Precipitation has been at or above-normal in Northern California, but there has been little rain in the south.Since Oct. 1 just 2.3 inches have fallen in Los Angeles, or 5 percent of average. In San Diego, it’s 1.5 inches, or 1 percent of average, according to the California Department of Water Resources.