SAN CLEMENTE : 15% Hike in Water Rates Considered

Water rates for residents in San Clemente could increase by at least 15% in the coming months, a decision triggered recently when the Metropolitan Water District, which supplies most of the water to the city, announced it would be raising its rates.

The possible increase would raise the water bill for an average San Clemente household from $12.40 every two months to $14.30, according to the city Water Department. The city has not yet determined when the new rates would begin.

Last week board members with the Tri-Cities Municipal Water District, which buys water from MWD and sells it to the city, considered a possible rate increase of about $100 per acre-foot of water for San Clemente and Capistrano Beach effective July 1, district General Manager Ray Woodside said. (An acre-foot of water equals about 326,000 gallons, or the amount of water used by two average households in a year.)

In an effort to make the increase smaller for the communities, the board is also considering dipping into its budget reserves to help cover the new costs, Woodside said. “The primary reason for the increase is the increases from MWD,” he said. “They increased their water by $61 an acre foot.”

In addition to the MWD increase, the district is also facing higher costs from a new pipeline and bonds used to help finance new projects, he said. Last July, the Tri-Cities Municipal Water District also raised its rates, which helped finance several new projects, he said.

The district is expected to take final action on the proposed increase June 17.

MWD’s need to pay for new reservoirs and other projects to “maintain a reliable supply of water for Southern California” is the main reason for the rate increase, said MWD spokesman Bob Muir.

Among the biggest proposed MWD projects is the Domenigoni Reservoir in Riverside County near Hemet, which when completed will nearly double the water storage capacity for Southern California, Muir said.

“That’s the cornerstone of our program,” he said. Until last July, MWD had not raised its rates in six years.