Beverly Hills : Council OKs Water Studies
Still stinging from water cost increases and stiff penalties levied against the city last year for excessive consumption during the drought, the City Council on Tuesday launched a two-prong approach for controlling its water costs.
The council approved a $135,000 study to look at alternate ground water sources and asked staff to come back April 16 with water-rate proposals that would reward conservation.
The study is to determine the feasibility of drawing on local ground water to supplement water it receives from the Metropolitan Water District, Southern California’s regional water wholesaler.
The city has also undertaken a study to determine its legal rights to the ground water, Mayor Vicki Reynolds said.
The city was fined $129,906 between February and November last year when it failed to meet the MWD’s requirement that all its members reduce their consumption by 20% because of the five-year drought. In turn, the city imposed severe penalties on residents who used more than 80% of their consumption in 1989.
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