Conservation efforts combined with projects across San Diego are playing a role in putting the county in a better position to weather a drought, but is also leaving the county with some of the highest water rates in the state — higher than Los Angeles County.

A new report by Arizona State University environmental economist Michael Hanemann offers an analysis of water rates in San Diego County. He found that the San Diego County Water Authority’s wholesale rate for untreated water is $400 more per acre-foot than the Metropolitan Water District in Los Angeles.