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A recent study is recommending a water rate increase for users within the Carlsbad Municipal Water District.

The cost of service study is requesting the CMWD fall in line with industry standards for its revenue, which consists of 30 percent from fixed rate funds and 70 percent of rate per unit of water used. Currently, the city collects 27 percent from fixed rates and 73 percent from rate per unit.

A public hearing will be held Nov. 29 at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive. CMWD customers have until Nov. 29 to submit protest letters.

If approved, rates would increase by about $5 per month, according to the city.

New financial incentives are available for homeowners who want to replace water-hungry lawns with more efficient landscaping, the San Diego County Water Authority announced Wednesday. The agency has $500,000 available from grants awarded by the state Department of Water Resources, and an upcoming grant is expected to add another $600,000. Qualified applicants can receive up to $1.75 per square foot toward eligible project costs for upgrading 500 to 3,000 square feet of existing turf areas, according to the Water Authority. Funding for incentives is limited, and will be reserved for completed and approved applications on a first-come, first-served basis.

To the editor: Water desalinization is the solution to both saving the Salton Sea and providing water for crop irrigation in the Imperial and San Joaquin valleys. (“Where’s the money and the plan that will save the Salton Sea?” Opinion, Oct. 16) A pumping station built in San Felipe in Baja California would pump water from the Sea of Cortez into the Salton Sea. A desalination plant built in the Salton Sea would provide treated water to Imperial Valley farms for irrigation and consumption.

The county is expected this week to enter into an agreement with the Borrego Water District to begin joint preparation of a Groundwater Sustainability Plan aimed at solving the continuing depletion of the underground water table that feeds the Borrego Valley, including the desert town of Borrego Springs. The county will commit an initial $500,000 to the agreement and another $700,000 later as work proceeds on the plan, which is needed to avoid state intervention — something nobody wants.

 

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is mounting a major PR campaign in San Diego County – including an Oct.3 commentary in the SDBJ – based on its assertion that “we need California WaterFix” to ensure a reliable water supply for Southern California. This advocacy effort is being conducted by MWD staff and consultants even though MWD’s Board of Directors has not voted on whether to support the WaterFix, a proposal by the state to address challenges in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta at the cost of at least $ 17 billion.