South Bay : City Hikes Water Rate 14.7% to Finance Improvements
The city of Torrance is going to the well once again.
City officials last week raised residents’ water rates by 14.7% to help finance renovations to the city’s crumbling water system.
“The water infrastructure is 40 to 50 years old and unfortunately our predecessors did not take an aggressive approach to maintain it,” said Nazir Qureshi, division engineer for water resources. “We need to replace about 100 miles of water mains. We still have electrical panels on plywood boards.”
The tax hike, which consists of a 4.7% “pass-through” rate increase from the Metropolitan Water District and a 10% rate increase from the city, will raise $1.4 million for capital improvements. Water bills for homeowners will rise an average of $3.44 a month, to $26.79.
Last year, the city raised its rates by 10%. City officials expect to tap residents’ wallets next year by an additional 9%.
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