A proposal to hire a consultant to study future rates for San Diego municipal water customers, and increase transparency in developing the prices, received initial backing Thursday from the City Council’s Environment Committee. The suggestion by the Utility Consumers Action Network stemmed from the council’s approval in November 2015 of rate increases that will total around 40 percent over five years. “We understand that the costs to service the provision of water to San Diego customers required a large increase,” Don Kelly of UCAN told committee members.