Pomona : Water Rate Increase OKd

The City Council has approved a water rate increase, effective Aug. 1, that will cost the average residential customer 22 cents a month.

Water Manager Anthony J. Skvarek said the increase is needed to bolster reserves, including a $1-million fund that would be available to pay for repairs in case of damage from an earthquake.

Skvarek said that when the new rates take effect, the average Pomona residential customer, who now pays $33.11 every two months for water, will still pay less than customers in most neighboring cities. For water service that will cost $33.55 in Pomona, residents pay $38.80 in Glendora, $39.54 in Covina, $50.92 in San Dimas and $65 in La Verne, according to a water rate study by James M. Montgomery Consulting Engineers Inc. of Pasadena.