Grand Jury’s water rates report is ‘right on the money’
Posted by George J Janczyn on July 28, 2011
[Reprint of a news release from the San Diego County Water Authority]
On June 28, [sic; i.e., July 28] the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors largely concurred with the key findings contained in the May 31 San Diego County Grand Jury report, “San Diego County Water Rates: High Today, Higher Tomorrow”. The report determined that the region’s water rates are likely to continue to rise, that underrepresentation on the Board at Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (the Water Authority’s largest imported water supplier) harms the interests of the region’s ratepayers, and the region’s water agencies have not clearly communicated why water rates are rising.
The Board determined the Water Authority has implemented or is implementing the report’s recommended actions for developing new local water supplies, pushing for fair representation at MWD, and improving public outreach.
The Water Authority also offered clarifications on two of the report’s findings related to water rates.
- The increasing cost of water and transportation service from MWD today remains the largest driver of rate increases in San Diego County. The need to develop new local supplies, and thus incur those costs, is not being driven principally by the needs of growing population or development. Instead, it is driven by uncertainties surrounding the future availability of imported water from MWD.
- Effectively communicating information about water rates is often difficult to do quickly and easily. Obstacles include the inherent complexity of region’s water supply and rate-related issues, constantly changing hydrological conditions that affect supplies and rates, and varying rates among the region’s local retail agencies. Nevertheless, the Water Authority acknowledged the need for clear communications is increasing and that it is working to enhance its outreach efforts.
For more details on the Grand Jury’s report and the Water Authority’s response, please click on the resources below.
This entry was posted on July 28, 2011 at 10:46 pm and is filed under San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA), Water, Water rates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
GrokSurf's San Diego 
merle Moshiri said
If you think your water rates are high now……wait until Poseidon gets done with you. Or maybe they already ARE done with you? Sold you all out and on their way up the coast to Huntington Beach. Guess again. Not everybody just fell off the turnip truck in HB.
Merle Moshiri, President
Residents for Responsible Desalination
Huntington Beach, CA
Burt Freeman said
Very interesting to see the Grand Jury take on the topic of water rates in San Diego County and the responses that their findings and recommendations has elicited! A powerful example of public investigation.
In this particular case, I wonder who initiated the Grand Jury investigation, why the topic was awarded sufficiently high priority to warrant inclusion, who determined the scope, and who performed the study?