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In the most recent test results released by San Diego Unified School District, unusually high levels of lead were found in eight schools. In each case, the levels measured were below state guidelines requiring the district to take action. As school districts test for lead in their drinking water, they are required by the state to fix problems if they discover lead in water at levels greater than 15 parts per billion (ppb).

Water and sewer rates for Padre Dam Municipal Water District customers are about to go up.

The board of directors of the Santee-based district is holding a public hearing June 21 to vote on proposed increases and adjustments to water and sewer rates, and service charges.

The rate hikes, if approved, would take effect in November. The average residential Padre Dam customer would pay $154.75 a month for water and sewer services, up from $151.

Customers of the Santa Fe Irrigation District (SFID) are looking at double-digit increases in their water bills next year, based on a proposed spending plan that will be considered for adoption by the district’s board of directors in June. The rate hike, which is planned for Jan. 1, 2018, will total between 11 and 13 percent, said Jeanne Deaver, the district’s administrative service manager. This includes a 9 percent rate hike imposed by the district, plus a “pass-through” of between 2 and 4 percent based on expected rate increases by the district’s wholesale water supplier, the San Diego County Water Authority.

Padre Dam Municipal Water District, already charging among the highest water rates in the nation, is proposing yet another five-year rate increase that officials say is necessary to maintain the agency’s services. In a 12-page notice sent out to all of Padre Dam’s 24,000 customers, the district outlined the rate increases depending on use, and the rationale supporting the increases. Starting in November, an average residential customer in Padre Dam’s district should expect their combined water and sewer monthly bill to rise to $154.75, up $3.74, or nearly $45 annually.

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. 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.