Typically, water utilities’ budgets are funded by revenue
collected through water and sewer rates. Revenue generated by
rates covers the costs of operations, as well as ongoing upgrades
and repairs to pipelines, treatment plants, sewers and other
water infrastructure.
State legislation also has affected the water rate-setting
process by requiring new processes for altering water rates, as
well as by requiring water conservation, which in turn decreases
the demand for water.
The cost of water in San Diego will continue to skyrocket but
we don’t have a good idea where or whether it will
stop. The city of San Diego recently revealed its own
water rates will rise a whopping 61 percent through 2029,
adding about $57 per month to the average water bill. Part of
the reason is the San Diego County Water Authority, which sells
water to the region’s 22 water districts, is paying off debt
and deals it took on many years ago to claim more Colorado
River water and tap into ocean water for drinking. Another
reason is cities like San Diego are building their own
expensive wastewater recycling systems. But this year’s
price spike – or any water rate forecast in San Diego
right now – doesn’t account for some of the largest and most
expensive water security solutions being pondered in Southern
California right now by the Metropolitan Water District of
Southern California and beyond. San Diego would also be on the
hook for those.
Imperial Irrigation District is considering sharply raising
electric rates over the next three years to meet what its
senior staff and a consultant say could be a future $100
million shortfall in covering costs of service and
infrastructure upgrades necessary to provide reliable power to
all of Imperial County and large stretches of the Coachella
Valley. The district’s budget is presently in the black, with
large cash reserves available now, a close read of the
consultant’s report shows. But officials stressed those could
dry up in future years. The rate hikes would affect all
categories of customers, including residential, agricultural,
commercial and municipal if IID’s board of directors adopts the
recommendations in a report prepared by NewGen Strategies and
Solutions, which was presented on Tuesday. IID is not about to
go bankrupt. The agency procured $318 million in various
government grants for power and water programs in 2024, has
applied for another $400 million, and has hefty total cash
reserves, though a spokesman could not immediately provide an
exact amount.
San Diego could raise water rates by 61% and sewer rates 32%
over four years to cover sharply rising costs for workers,
imported water, chemicals, energy, construction projects and
other priorities. The increases, which would incrementally kick
in between January 2026 and January 2029, are recommended by
two new studies analyzing future revenues and expenses for the
city’s water and sewer systems.The hikes wouldn’t be finalized
until City Council votes scheduled for September. The city’s
independent budget analyst says it will hire a consultant to
evaluate each study and perhaps recommend changes.
As California slowly emerges from
the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, one remnant left behind by
the statewide lockdown offers a sobering reminder of the economic
challenges still ahead for millions of the state’s residents and
the water agencies that serve them – a mountain of water debt.
Water affordability concerns, long an issue in a state where
millions of people struggle to make ends meet, jumped into
overdrive last year as the pandemic wrenched the economy. Jobs
were lost and household finances were upended. Even with federal
stimulus aid and unemployment checks, bills fell by the wayside.
The bill is coming due, literally,
to protect and restore groundwater in California.
Local agencies in the most depleted groundwater basins in
California spent months putting together plans to show how they
will achieve balance in about 20 years.
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.
In the universe of California water, Tim Quinn is a professor emeritus. Quinn has seen — and been a key player in — a lot of major California water issues since he began his water career 40 years ago as a young economist with the Rand Corporation, then later as deputy general manager with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and finally as executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. In December, the 66-year-old will retire from ACWA.
During drought, people conserve water. That’s a good thing for
public water agencies and the state as a whole but the reduction
in use ultimately means less money flowing into the budgets of
those very agencies that need funds to treat water to drinkable
standards, maintain a distribution system, and build a more
drought-proof supply.
“There are two things that can’t happen to a water utility – you
can’t run out of money and you can’t run out of water,” said Tom
Esqueda, public utilities director for the city of Fresno. He was
a panelist at a June 16 discussion in Sacramento about drought
resiliency sponsored by the Public Policy Institute of California
(PPIC).
This printed issue of Western Water examines water
infrastructure – its costs and the quest to augment traditional
brick-and-mortar facilities with sleeker, “green” features.
This printed issue of Western Water examines the
financing of water infrastructure, both at the local level and
from the statewide perspective, and some of the factors that
influence how people receive their water, the price they pay for
it and how much they might have to pay in the future.
This printed issue of Western Water looks at some of
the pieces of the 2009 water legislation, including the Delta
Stewardship Council, the new requirements for groundwater
monitoring and the proposed water bond.
This printed issue of Western Water examines the
changed nature of the California Water Plan, some aspects of the
2009 update (including the recommendation for a water finance
plan) and the reaction by certain stakeholders.
This printed copy of Western Water examines the challenges facing
small water systems, including drought preparedness, limited
operating expenses and the hurdles of complying with costlier
regulations. Much of the article is based on presentations at the
November 2007 Small Systems Conference sponsored by the Water
Education Foundation and the California Department of Water
Resources.
This printed issue of Western Water features a
roundtable discussion with Anthony Saracino, a water resources
consultant; Martha Davis, executive manager of policy development
with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency and senior policy advisor
to the Delta Stewardship Council; Stuart Leavenworth, editorial
page editor of The Sacramento Bee and Ellen Hanak, co-director of
research and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of
California.
Many Californians don’t realize that when they turn on the
faucet, the water that flows out could come from a source close
to home or one hundreds of miles away. Most people take their
water for granted; not thinking about the elaborate systems and
testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to
households throughout the state. Where drinking water comes from,
how it’s treated, and what people can do to protect its quality
are highlighted in this 2007 PBS documentary narrated by actress
Wendie Malick.
A 30-minute version of the 2007 PBS documentary Drinking Water:
Quenching the Public Thirst. This DVD is ideal for showing at
community forums and speaking engagements to help the public
understand the complex issues surrounding the elaborate systems
and testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to
households throughout the state.
It’s no secret that providing water in a state with the size and
climate of California costs money. The gamut of water-related
infrastructure – from reservoirs like Lake Oroville to the pumps
and pipes that deliver water to homes, businesses and farms –
incurs initial and ongoing expenses. Throw in a new spate of
possible mega-projects, such as those designed to rescue the
ailing Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and the dollar amount grows
exponentially to billion-dollar amounts that rival the entire
gross national product of a small country.
