OPINION: Water Independence — Not at Any Price

When it comes to water, honesty matters as much as infrastructure. On Tuesday, the San Diego City Council narrowly approved a two-year water rate increase — 14.7 percent next year and 14.5 percent the following year — rejecting staff’s push for a four-year plan. The Council’s message was clear: They want answers and accountability, not finger-pointing.

City staff continue to blame the San Diego County Water Authority for rate hikes, citing higher wholesale costs and claiming the Water Authority “has too much water.” Yet when a councilmember asked what the city’s rate increase would be if the Water Authority raised rates by 0 percent, staff offered only double talk. That moment crystallized a larger issue — a troubling lack of transparency about the city’s own cost drivers, from deferred maintenance and energy costs to the growing expense of building the Pure Water program.