The House Natural Resources Committee voted along party lines Wednesday to approve bills offered by California Democrats to reauthorize grant programs to provide reliable water supplies through reuse and desalination projects.
Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said he supported the water bills because Western states have been hit hard by drought conditions worsened by climate change.
Poway City Council members voted 4-1 Tuesday night to give most city water customers small credits on an upcoming bill due to last year’s six-day boil water advisory.
The average customer will see a one-time credit of about $28.72 in March or April, depending on which bimonthly billing cycle the customer is on. This includes a $5.29 credit on the fixed rate and $23.43 for commodity equal to 1/8th of the bimonthly bill. Seventy-seven percent of all water customers will have a commodity credit of between $10 and $50, depending on how much water they typically use.
Poway water customers may be in line for small credits on an upcoming bill because the recent six-day boil-water advisory late last year.
Pending the council’s likely approval, the typical residential customer will see a one-time credit of about $28.72 in either March or April, depending on which bimonthly billing cycle the customer is on.
San Diego took several steps this week to boost the accuracy of water bills, improve customer satisfaction and speed up the installation of digital “smart” meters.
The changes come after public outcry in 2017 and 2018 over exorbitant water bills received by many customers which city officials blamed on faulty meters, employee errors and mismanagement in the Public Utilities Department.
California Water Service filed an application with the California Public Utilities Commission on Monday that will result in bill decreases for the utility’s Lucerne customers. The filing implements various ratemaking mechanisms that company officials said will ensure customer bills continue to reflect the true cost to provide water service. For the typical residential Lucerne customer who uses 2,992 gallons, or 4 ccf, of water per month, the monthly bill will decrease by $5.63. Because Lucerne customers are billed for water service every two months, they would see a decrease of $11.26 on the bimonthly bill, the company said.
Senate Bill 559 (SB 559), authored by Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger), representing the 14th Senate District in California, and principal co-authored by Senator Andreas Borgeas (R-Fresno), Assemblymember Devon Mathis (R-Visalia), Assemblymember Dr. Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno), and Assemblymember Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield), today advanced through the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water by 7-0 vote. The legislation, which received bipartisan support, will invest $400 million from the State’s General Fund towards the Friant-Kern Canal, one of the Central Valley’s most critical water delivery facilities.
A battle over a controversial state bill that seeks to remake the Imperial Irrigation District board is exposing political connections and payments to key players on both sides. Elected officials, business and labor groups are staking out sides on Assembly Bill 854, which would wrest control of the water and power district from Imperial County where it’s headquartered and shift it north to Riverside County, home to a majority of its electricity customers.
A new bill in the California Legislature would provide a path for veterans transitioning to civilian employment to receive credit for their military experience and education toward certifications in the water industry. Assembly Bill 1588 was introduced February 22 by San Diego Assemblymember Todd Gloria and Central Valley Assemblymember Adam Gray. The bill, which may be heard in committee this month, is co-sponsored by the San Diego County Water Authority and the Otay Water District in hopes of helping the state’s industry replace a wave of retiring Baby Boomers.
In stormy winters like this, residents of drought-prone Southern California fret about how much rainfall flows into the ocean, a reminder of the amounts of water the region is wasting instead of saving for good use. A new bill by a San Fernando Valley state senator aims to fix that. The bill introduced Monday by Sens. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, and Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, would require huge reductions in the volume of treated wastewater discharged into the Pacific Ocean and California estuaries.
Low-income Californians can get help with their phone bills, their natural gas bills and their electric bills. But there’s only limited help available when it comes to water bills. That could change if the recommendations of a new report are implemented into law. Drafted by the State Water Resources Control Board, the report outlines the possible components of a program to assist low-income households facing rising water bills.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
