Tag Archive for: Water Bills

San Diego County Water Authority And its 24 Member Agencies

LAFCO Decision Could Raise Region’s Water Bills by Nearly $200 Million

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Updated figures released today show that disadvantaged communities, working families, farmers, and others across San Diego County will be forced to pay nearly $200 million more over the next decade for water service unless agencies seeking to leave the Water Authority are required to fully cover their costs.

On July 10, the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission’s board is expected to vote on a plan for the Fallbrook and Rainbow water agencies to leave the San Diego County Water Authority, possibly with the inclusion of an “exit fee.” However, LAFCO’s figures are based on years-old data and flawed projections that understate the annual costs of detachment by at least 50%. Like everything else, costs related to water supplies have inflated significantly over the past three years.

LAFCO’s data don’t reflect the inflationary realities or the fact that the financial impacts of detachment will continue far beyond LAFCO’s five-year horizon, which does not reflect the actual lifespan of water infrastructure or the debt used to finance it. The LAFCO staff report acknowledges impacts will continue far longer than five years, suggesting that the rest of the county should pay for benefits to Rainbow and Fallbrook.

“From the start of this process, one of our top priorities was making sure that residents across the region aren’t harmed financially. It’s critical that ratepayers who are struggling to make ends meet, independent farmers, and small businesses aren’t forced to subsidize Fallbrook and Rainbow for years to come,” said Water Authority Board Chair Mel Katz. “We encourage the LAFCO Commissioners to require Fallbrook and Rainbow to fully cover their costs.”

LAFCO’s staff recommendation to approve the detachment proposals by the Fallbrook and Rainbow water agencies does not include substantive analysis of impacts to disadvantaged communities, or to agriculture in the Water Authority service area. Nor does it include environmental analysis required by law.

The LAFCO staff recommendation includes an exit fee of about $4.8 million a year for five years, which isn’t close to covering the actual costs that will be shifted to residents elsewhere in the county.

Here’s how much retail water agencies in the region may have to pay each year to cover the projected $18.9 million bill from Fallbrook and Rainbow leaving:

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Water Bills Will Spike for 140,000 San Jose Residents Starting July 1

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Gabriel Greschler

Water bills will be rising for nearly a tenth of San Jose’s residents starting July 1 after San Jose councilmembers approved the rate hike on Tuesday — one of the largest increases in the region this year.

Customers under the city-run San Jose Municipal Water System (SJMWS) will see a 14% rise in their bills — about $16 extra per month. SJMWS serves roughly 140,000 residents in North San Jose, Alviso, Evergreen, Edenvale and Coyote Valley.

Officials blame the rising costs on increased prices from third-party water providers, supply and usage issues related to drought conditions and future infrastructure projects. In total, SJMWS expects to receive $8.9 million from the increase.

Councilmembers voted 9-2 for the price increase, with Councilmembers Domingo Candelas and Bien Doan voting against it.

Water usage is expected to remain the same this coming year — and costs are expected to rise in the years ahead. By 2024, water bills could go up by 15%, 11.5% in 2025 and 10% for the next seven years after that.

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Millions Still Available to Help Low-Income San Diegans With Water Bills

/in , , /by /KPBSby Katie Hyson

A fund to help San Diego County residents pay their water bills still has $2.5 million sitting unclaimed. According to leadership of the nonprofit Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee on Anti-Poverty, or MAAC, which manages the fund, many people may not realize they qualify for assistance.

“We don’t want to leave money on the table when there are people that absolutely need these funds right now,” said Arnulfo Manriquez, MAAC’s president, who oversees the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program.

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How Washing My Hands With ‘Toilet Water’ Cut My Water Bills in Half

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Jeanette Marantos

It’s hard to be blasé about the Sink Twice. I don’t want to oversell a plastic sink that sits over a toilet tank, but this ingenious, relatively low-cost device could help save the world. Why? Because it saves water. It saves money. It motivates children and adults to wash their hands. It’s a great conversation starter. And it’s really fun, which by itself makes the Sink Twice worth the $83.99 price tag.

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Federal Cash Arrives for San Diegans Drowning in Water Bills as Shutoffs Resume

/in , , /by /The San Diego-Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith

Thousands of San Diegans are struggling to pay their water bills as shutoffs resume across much of the state. Experts fear the burden will only get worse as the cost of water continues to soar, driven in part by ongoing historic drought.

However, federal emergency cash is now providing temporary relief for many low-income residents — up to $2,000 for unpaid water bills.

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Help Paying Water Bills May Be on Way for Low-Income Californians

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

María Dolores Díaz sighs when she opens her water bill every month because she knows what she’ll see: another bill that she’ll struggle to pay.

Diaz looks at the envelope and doesn’t want to open it because she wonders: How much, this time? “Ya nomás miro la carta y ‘aí ya no lo quiero abrir!’ Porque yo digo ‘¿ahora cuánto?’”

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San Diego Taking Steps for Possible Water Rate Hike

/in , /by /CBS 8by Regina Yurrita Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

If you are still watering your lawn or taking long showers, you might want to start practicing how to cut back on your water usage because come next year, water bills could go up.

 “I don’t like it and I don’t feel good about it,” said Ron Aguila, a Kearny Mesa resident who was shopping for house supplies.

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$25 Million in State Funds Support Local Water Ratepayers

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March 24, 2022 – After helping secure nearly $25 million to cover past-due water bills in 2021, the San Diego County Water Authority and its member agencies are seeking additional state money to help residents financially impacted by the pandemic.

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Why Your Water Bill is Rising

/in , , /by /Voice of San Diego by MacKenzie Elmer Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Two things are true about the cost of water in San Diego: the cost of bringing water here and maintaining the system that does it is rising, but the amount of water San Diegans consume is dropping.

In 1990, the average San Diegan used 235 gallons of drinkable water per day, according to the Water Authority’s records. By 2021, San Diegans cut that almost in half to 130 gallons per day. Megadroughts that triggered mandatory water cutbacks triggered better water conservation habits, which stuck.

But while San Diegans are using less, the costs they pay continue to rise. The cost of San Digeo’s water supply is expected to rise anywhere from 5.5 to 10 percent beginning in 2023, with hefty hikes continuing in the years thereafter.

“Long after I’m dust, these supplies will be valuable to this region,” said Gary Arant, who leads the Valley Center Municipal Water District, of the haul of water rights San Diego has locked up. “Right now, we’ve got a lot of water. It’s expensive, but I think the decisions we made were good.”

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The Beginning of the End of Lawns, One Rebate at a Time

/in , , /by /Sonoma Index-Tribuneby Chase Hunter

When Kim Chapman and her husband Don Gross were tired of their lawn, and the brown grass and the water bills that accompanied it, they got paid to remove their grass. They were one of 150 households who have benefited from the City of Sonoma’s turf removal rebate since it launched in 2013.

The program has been able to drastically reduce the amount of water used by residents who remove their lawns, since nearly half of a home’s water bill can come from maintaining lawns, Sonoma City Water Manager Mike Brett said.

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