Santa Monica Hikes Water Rate
Water rate increase notices hit the mail this week in Santa Monica, where the price of tap water will jump by nearly one-third because the city was forced to shut down municipal drinking water wells that became contaminated with a gasoline additive.
The average residential customer’s water monthly bill will increase from $34 to $44, as Santa Monica has been forced to buy additional water from the Metropolitan Water District.
The city shut down five drinking water wells that it owns on the Westside after discovering potentially harmful levels of methyl tertiary butyl ether, a compound added to most of the state’s gasoline to help it burn cleaner.
The chemical was detected in one well in March and has subsequently contaminated the entire Charnock Well Field, from which the city used to obtain about 5 million gallons of water a day.
It will cost an estimated $3 million a year to import replacement water from Northern California and the Colorado River, via the MWD.
A search has begun to determine the cause of the contamination. The city has said that reimbursements may be possible if the city can get a liability settlement.
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