The San Diego City Council met on Tuesday and passed a 3% increase in water rates to residents of the city.
The water rate increase comes after the San Diego County Water Authority, San Diego’s supplier of water, increased its rates by about 5% for treated water and nearly 4% for untreated water.
While repairing parts of Hodges Reservoir Dam, city workers found additional defects that need to be addressed, likely delaying the completion of repairs by several months, the city announced Monday.
During a prior inspection, city workers identified areas in the dam wall that required repair and needed to be sealed. To access areas on the dam for repair, the water level of the reservoir was lowered 18 feet to an elevation of 275 feet by transferring water to other reservoirs and treatment plants, officials said.
In the coming year San Diegans may be made to pay up to 3% more for running water. Tuesday, Sept. 20 San Diego City Council voted on whether or not to move forward with rate increases.
A rate hike could be the second time in the last two years the price for water could go up.
Ongoing repairs currently underway at Hodges Reservoir Dam have led the City of San Diego to determine more work is needed to address additional defects that were detected and to ensure the safety of the dam. This discovery will likely delay completion of this crucial repair project by several months.
Months after a judge ruled the City of San Diego is overcharging some water customers, the city has yet to pay up, or make changes to its rates.
Attorneys say the delay is costing taxpayers millions in penalty fees.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria on Tuesday signed off on a loan with the Environmental Protection Agency to fix up the city’s aging storm drain system.
The loan will allow for up to $733 million to be invested in stormwater infrastructure projects over the next five years. It’s one of the biggest infrastructure investments in recent years. The mayor’s signature kicked off the first installment of $225 million.
The loan will fund more than 80 projects.
“Our storm drain system is largely underground and out of sight, but the implications of this aging infrastructure failing are massive – from serious flooding in our neighborhoods to pollution of our bays and the ocean,” Gloria said in a statement. “While replacing storm drains and upgrading pump stations doesn’t capture the public’s attention like fixing potholes, these major investments in critical infrastructure are incredibly important to our neighborhoods and quality of life.”
On June 10, the city of San Diego implemented more stringent restrictions for all water customers, following a statewide order to conserve throughout California. We are calling on San Diegans to cut back their usage, not just because it’s the prudent thing to, but also to avoid more drastic measures that could come in the near future if we don’t take these new restrictions to heart.
The revised and more aggressive climate action plan San Diego adopted this month commits officials to creating 700 acres of marshland across the city, more than triple the 220 acres of new marshland Mayor Todd Gloria had previously promised in northeastern Mission Bay.
The revised climate action plan prioritizes new marsh areas — sometimes called wetlands — because they serve the dual purpose of removing greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide from the air and fighting sea-level rise by acting as a coastal sponge.
The city of San Diego Monday lifted a boil water notice for about 600 residential customers in a portion of the Tierrasanta neighborhood who were affected by fluctuating water pressure issues following a burst pipeline last week.
Multiple tests showed no quality issues with water coming from the tap. The California Division of Drinking Water reviewed the findings and approved the lifting of the notice.
San Diego gave emergency authorization this week to pay an extra $80 million to chemical suppliers that say they need to sharply raise prices because of pandemic-related supply-chain issues, higher fuel costs and rising costs for raw materials due to inflation. City officials say the chemicals are essential for treating sewage and keeping drinking water clean and healthy.
