NEWS

Pasadena water rates to increase

06/17/2008 10:19:51 PM PDT
By Dan Abendschein, Staff Writer

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Pasadena residents will pay $2 to $4 more per month for water starting in July.

PASADENA — Citing increased water purchasing and maintenance costs, the city council voted unanimously Monday night to raise water rates. Council members also green-lighted a second cost increase, which will take effect in July 2009.

The city estimates commercial water bills could spike by anywhere from $7.98 to $260 a month, depending on the size of the water meter.

The water rate increase for residents is estimated at $2.08 for people with five-eighth inch or three-quarter inch meters, and at $3.95 for customers with a 1-inch meter.

The water rate increases are necessary to balance the city's water account, Pasadena Water and Power manager Phyliss Currie said.

"The city has been absorbing the extra costs of water for years now," Currie said. "That limits what staff can do."

She said that the agency wants to put additional resources into finding new supplies of water for the city, such as reclaimed water that can be used for irrigation.

A few residents spoke against the increases, and City Hall staffers reported that several residents wrote letters protesting the hike.

City officials notified residents about the increases in a letter sent to customers in April, officials said.

But several council members also raised concerns about the water rate increases, saying the new rate structure is confusing.

"This is a large increase," councilwoman Margaret McAustin said. "We need to do a better job of educating the public."

Among McAustin's concerns were that the city did not mention the increase on consumers' water bills. She also said the city didn't do enough to advertise Monday's public hearing.

The increase is also confusing, she said, because there are two separate rate changes that will take effect July 1. The first is a rate change in response to extra costs for water purchased by the city from the Metropolitan Water District. That increase will increase city water revenues by $3.2 million to cover the increased costs from the MWD.

The July 2009 increase is also in response to increased water purchasing costs and will generate $1.7 million to offset those costs.

The second change is a long-term structural rate change, which has not been altered since 1995, according to city officials. That change will bring in an additional $2.3 million in water revenues, which city water officials say is necessary to offset increased costs in "labor, material, postage and fuel."

dan.abendschein@sgvn.com