CALABASAS : Water Rates Expected to Rise for 3rd Year

Feeling the effects of increased water prices and an absence of revenue because of a development slowdown, the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District expects to increase water rates this summer for the third straight year.

“I think it becomes very difficult not to have a rate increase this year,” said Hal Helsley, chairman of the district’s board of directors. “We know that we’re getting a fair increase passed to us, and we simply can’t absorb that right now.”

The massive Metropolitan Water District, which supplies water to Las Virgenes, plans to raise its prices 7% this year.

And with a near-total freeze in development between Topanga Canyon and the Ventura County line, the smaller agency is scrambling to find ways to pay its debt on ambitious projects undertaken during better times, such as a $50-million facility that will turn sewer sludge into compost.

Although there has been no formal proposal, studies requested by the district’s directors estimate rate increases of as much as 10% to 15% may be in order, Helsley said.

The board asked its staff to propose by May 23 more cost-cutting measures and projects that can be put on hold until revenues from development increase again.

Although rates for the 14,000 households that use Las Virgenes water are still lower than those in most other Southern California districts, Helsley said, residents of the arid, semirural Conejo Valley area use nearly twice as much water as the statewide average.

District General Manager James E. Colbaugh said the agency may have to become less aggressive in its efforts to conserve energy and reuse all of its resources.

The board probably will choose to put on hold the purchase of a $1.5-million generator to turn methane from the composting process into electricity, Colbaugh said. Smaller programs, such as car pools for the district’s 131 employees, also may be cut, he said.

“We don’t have any surplus expenses, and there are no things we can just eliminate without affecting the quality of service,” Colbaugh said. “We’re in a situation where we’re going to have to make some tough choices.”

A proposed budget will be submitted to the board at a public meeting May 23, Helsley said. If rate increases become part of the final spending plan for the next fiscal year, the district will hold public hearings before approving them.