SANTA PAULA : Water Rates Will Climb 38% Jan. 1

The new year will bring with it higher water bills for 7,000 customers of Santa Paula Water Works.

The average household can expect to pay $10.45 more a month when rates jump 38% Jan. 1, said Kyle DeVine of the California Public Utilities Commission, which approves all utility rate hikes in the state.

“It is one of the highest rate increases approved this year” in the state, DeVine said. The average residential customer will pay about $35.72 a month, DeVine said.

Water company officials had asked for a 55% increase in 1995, 11% in 1996 and 10% in 1997. The commission instead approved increases of 38%, 4.8% and 4.2% respectively for those years.

The smaller hike was big enough for some officials. “That’s kind of a sharp increase in this day and age,” Santa Paula Mayor Alfonso C. Urias said.

Water works Manager Dave Warner said the increase was needed in part to pay for an $850,000 water-treatment plant mandated by state health laws. The company also spent $400,000 to replace 34,000 feet of pipes and $200,000 to restore water wells.

“Our system is old and we have to start to invest a little more in capital improvements,” Warner said. He also said customers used 20% less water than expected over the last three years, cutting expected revenue.

Santa Paula now ranks with Thousand Oaks as having the highest water bills in the county. Santa Paula Water Works is a privately held utility.