Sweetwater Authority customers are doing their part when it comes to conserving water during California’s drought.
In May the water agency reduced its water use by 24 percent, doubling its 12 percent mandated conservation goal.
For the month of April, Sweetwater Authority fell just shy of its conservation goal as water usage was cut to 11 percent, according to the state Water Resources Control Board report.
And from July 2014 to July 2015, customers reduced their use of water by 25.6 percent.
Despite the water-saving measures, water rates for Sweetwater Authority customers are going to increase.
In a split vote the seven-member water board on June 30 approved a 5 percent water rate increase for its 32,567 customers.
A single family resident pays about $61 a month or $122 every two months for water. With the increase starting August or September, a single family resident should expect their bill to increase by about $1.40.
Some of the lower water users will see a $3.50 hike, water officials said.
The increase comes because Sweetwater Authority customers have saved enough water to the point where the water agency isn’t making enough money to pay for capital improvement projects, said Steve Castaneda, a board member with the South Bay Irrigation District, which is under the same umbrella as Sweetwater Authority.
“We have to pay for that (capital improvement) out of the revenue that we generate from water sales,” he said. “Well, we are selling a lot less water, that means a lot less money and that means we have to increase revenue.”
Before rates increase, Sweetwater Authority has to adhere to Proposition 218. The proposition calls for a public hearing, which the agency already had, and send out a Proposition 218 notice to customers about the proposed rate increase. The notice gives customers a chance to oppose the hike. Castaneda said if at least 50 percent of its customers oppose it, then the agency is not allowed to increase the rates.
Because customers are saving water, Castaneda said Sweetwater Authority’s water production is down to 25.6 percent, which equates to about $2.8 million the agency is losing.
“It’s going to cost us more money to operate this organization with less money coming in,” he said.
Sweetwater Authority provides water for National City, Bonita and western and central portions of Chula Vista.
Sweetwater Authority isn’t just increasing rates to generate revenue, last week the board also established a hiring freeze after being asked by the general manager to hire three high level employees.
“I really don’t like to increase fees without looking at our organization, basically trying to make sure we’re running as efficiently and tightly as possible,” Castaneda said.
The rate increase should only be for one year, but there is a possibility that more increases may come, Castaneda said.
“If the drought continues to worsen, water prices may increase because we are going to have to buy water at a higher rate,” he said.
