The San Diego County Water Authority‘s staff is scheduled Thursday to propose increasing rates paid by its 24 member agencies next year.

The proposed hikes are 6.4 percent for untreated water and 5.9 percent for treated water in calendar year 2017, similar to the hikes adopted by the Board of Directors for this year. The agency receives water from a variety of sources, including the wholesaler Metropolitan Water District, and distributes it to local districts and cities that, in turn, supply customers. Agency staff cited rate increases by MWD, conservation efforts that have lowered revenue and the higher cost of desalinated water.