Inflation and major problems with tunneling and flooding have ballooned the price tag for San Diego’s Pure Water sewage recycling system by $130 million, a 10 percent hike that’s expected to raise sewer and water rates. The city has already burned through nearly the entire $115 million contingency fund set aside to cover cost overruns and unexpected expenses when the $1.14 billion project was approved in 2021. Officials say they need $130 million more to keep ongoing construction of pipelines, purification plants and pump stations on track for completion by early 2027, a few months before a federal deadline. The city faces that deadline because building Pure Water is part of a settlement agreement over the city’s outdated Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant not meeting Clean Water Act standards.

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