San Diego Water, Sewer Rates To Increase

www.10News.com

February 27, 2007

The City Council agreed Monday to increase water and sewer rates in San Diego over the next four years to begin to address a backlog of mandated infrastructure improvements, 10News reported.

The city's water rates will rise by 6.5 percent in each of the next four fiscal years. Sewer fees would go up 8.75 percent in each of the next two fiscal years and 7 percent in both 2010 and 2011.

The fee increases will take effect beginning July 1. The council voted 7-1 to approve the sewer fee increase. Councilman Brian Maienschein cast the lone dissenting vote. The panel voted 6-2 to approve the water fee increase. Maienschein and Councilwoman Donna Frye cast the no votes.

Both said the notices sent to the city's water and sewer ratepayers were insufficient. Maienschein also said the rate hike would unfairly impact seniors and low-income families in his district.

The boosts mean bills for the average water customer in San Diego will increase about $5 a month in the first year, while sewer bills would rise about $3 a month during the same period.

Mayor Jerry Sanders proposed the rate hike to address a $1.4 billion backlog of infrastructure projects and system upgrades, some of which are needed to comply with state and federal mandates.

"We simply have no choice but to move forward today with my plans to improve the water and wastewater infrastructure," Sanders told the council at the start of the seven-hour hearing. "To not do so would put the city and ratepayers of both systems at great risk."

Sanders cited the 691 water main breaks and 701 sewage spills in the city over the past five years as cause for the rate hike.

"As I have said time and again, we have neglected these systems for too long and they are quite literally falling apart from one end of the city to the other," Sanders told the council.

Sanders' proposal won endorsement by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and the San Diego County Taxpayers Association. It also has the backing of a number of environmental groups.

Marco Gonzalez, an attorney for San Diego Coastkeeper, said recent efforts by the city to maintain and replace aging pipelines has resulted in an 84 percent reduction in sewer spills.

"If we don't continue the strides we have made so far we will fall back into that morass we were in for 30 years," he said.

The fee increases were opposed by two San Diego-based government watchdog organizations, The Performance Institute and Center on Policy Initiatives.

Carl DeMaio, president of The Performance Institute, acknowledged that the city is behind in improving its aging water and sewer systems, but argued that the rate hike was unnecessary.

"I believe we should reform first before we approve rate increases," DeMaio testified. "The truth is San Diego's water and sewer management systems are as broken as its pipes."

DeMaio called for better assurances that the money generated through the fee increases will be spent prudently.

To ensure that the funds generated by the fee increases will only be used for water and sewer projects, Sanders proposed the creation of an 11-member independent rates oversight committee.

Sanders has also called for annual financial and performance audits for both systems, something that previously had not been done.

Sue Macomber, with the Utility Consumers' Action Network, decried the fees as an "unfair," "unwarranted," and an "inequitable" allocation of costs, calling it a "bailout" for business.

Sanders said there was "zero basis" for such a charge, characterizing the allegation as "flat-out irresponsible."

The city logged 8,592 formal protests to the water and sewer fee increases, out of about 274,000 accounts.

"People understand these investments need to be made and they are realistic about having to pay for them," Council President Scott Peters said.

The city is under a mandate by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the California Department of Health Services to make improvements to its water and wastewater infrastructure.

San Diego has also been sued by environmental groups over the number of sewage spills in past years. The terms of a likely settlement in that lawsuit require the city to make $750 million in upgrades to its water and sewer systems by 2013.

Money generated from the rate increases would be used to replace hundreds of miles of pipelines and help pay for upgrades to treatment plants and security systems, according to Sanders' office.

About Coast Law Group

Coast Law Group LLP is a community-conscious law firm which provides innovative solutions to best achieve clients’ goals and objectives.  To learn more about the firm and its broad range of legal services, log on to www.coastlawgroup.com.

COAST LAW GROUP LLP

169 Saxony Rd., Ste. 204

Encinitas, CA 92024

(760) 942-8505