On a 5-3 vote, the City Council approved a series of water rate increases Tuesday totaling nearly 20% over the next two years.
On a 5-3 vote, the San Diego City Council approved a series of water rate increases Tuesday totaling nearly 20% over the next two years, following a public hearing during which San Diegans largely urged the body to reject the hikes.
San Diego imports 85-90% of all its water, which"will dramatically change when the full Pure Water Project comes online," according to a representative of the city's public utilities department. Pure Water is a phased, multi-year program intended to provide nearly half of San Diego's water supply locally by the end of 2035 by recycling sewer water.
Councilmember Marni von Wilpert said hold times in contacting PUD's customer service line were unacceptable. A staffer from her office was on hold for 77 minutes before receiving assistance, she said.According to the public utilities department, the rate increase is needed to fund infrastructure projects such as Pure Water, pipelines, storage such as dams and the increasing costs of chemicals to treat water — up 154% since 2018.
"I approve the staff recommendation but want to make sure we are doing everything we can to help people with their bills," Whitburn said."These rate increases are going to pinch but we need to continue to have quality water." In June, the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors voted to increase wholesale water rates by 9.5% for 2024.
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