Amid a “challenging budget cycle,” the San Diego County Water Authority board announced plans for a public hearing on June 22 regarding proposed wholesale water rates for 2024, followed by official votes on final rates.
The agency said in announcing the hearing that it is seeking to manage cost increases created by “extraordinary inflationary pressures and depressed water sales,” while at the same time ensuring water reliability and maintaining a strong credit rating.
“This is the most challenging budget cycle I’ve seen in more than three decades of public service leadership,” said Water Authority General Manager Sandra L. Kerl.
“The headwinds were strong from the start, and they only got stronger over the past three months, with unexpectedly large energy bills driving up costs and the persistence of highly unusual wet weather that has depressed water sales,” she said.
Water Authority staff have recommended a wholesale rate increase of 9.5%, though the impact will vary among local districts that buy the water and depend upon customers’ actual water use.
“Decades of board decisions to ensure water security for our region, including during this most recent dry period, have come at a cost,” said Kerl. “The value of water reliability for our region has never been higher, but at the same time we must pay the bills as they come due.”
The agency has invested billions in projects like the Carlsbad desalination plant, upgrading the All American Canal and raising the height of the San Vincente Dam to ensure water reliability. During the recent record drought, the region was not required to cut water use.
However, two rural water districts in Fallbrook and Rainbow are now seeking to exit from the Water Authority, saying they don’t benefit from the greater reliability, and the Padre Dam Water District has gone on record as opposing any rate increase.
The public hearing is scheduled to start when the board meets at 9 a.m., June 22, at 4677 Overland Avenue in San Diego. The hearing will also be livestreamed.
