Ventura Water, Sewage Rates May Rise 7% : Utilities: A council committee endorses the hike to cover increased operating costs and to finance future projects.

Water and sanitation rates will rise 7% beginning July 1 for the average Ventura household, if the tentative recommendation of a Ventura City Council committee is approved in a few months.

On Friday, Councilmen Steve Bennett and Jack Tingstrom, members of the city’s Utilities Committee, approved a staff recommendation to hike sanitation and water fees next fiscal year to cover increased operating costs and to pay for future water and sewer projects.

Mayor Tom Buford, who also sits on the three-member committee, was absent.

The committee is scheduled to take a final vote on the increased rates at its April 6 meeting. Its recommendation will go before the entire council in May.

Although rates would go up for water and sewer customers citywide, the biggest increases may target industrial and commercial users. City staff recommended hiking sanitation rates 12% to 18% for industrial customers. Commercial customers may see their sanitation bills jump as much as 10%.

“Some customers have significantly reduced their (sewage) flow,” utilities Manager Pam Cosby said. “There’s less sewage coming in, but it’s more concentrated and more costly to treat.”

Tingstrom and Bennett were not happy with the proposed industrial increases and asked city staff to find other options by next month’s committee meeting.

“We’re losing businesses because of this kind of operation,” Tingstrom complained.

Bennett, however, noted that if industrial users are subsidized, it would be at the expense of other customers.

“If we lower their rates, someone else’s rates will go up,” Bennett said.

Tingstrom and Bennett did not voice any major objections to the proposed 7% increase in water rates for commercial and residential users. The average family is now billed $75.25 bimonthly for sanitation and water.

City staff said they are recommending passing on increased operating costs from Casitas Municipal Water District and United Water Conservation District to consumers. Also, electrical costs have increased, adding to overall operating costs.

The income from rates would also go toward paying for future projects such as replacing reservoirs, drilling new wells and improving water quality.

The water projects will postpone the need for a desalination plant and save residents more money in the long run, Bennett said.

“With this increase, we’re buying more time,” he said.

According to a staff report, water rates are expected to rise an average of at least 24.5% during the next five years, based on 3.5% annual inflation, and the need to continue funding water projects. Sanitation rates are not expected to rise substantially.

Last year, the council increased basic water rates by 3.5% and restructured water rates to give breaks to residents who use as much or slightly more water than the average household.

In 1992, the council raised water and sanitation rates by 17%, making Ventura’s rates among the highest in the county.