August 2008 Newsletter
Legislative Alert - San Diego’s Water Supply
Rate hikes and voluntary conservation likely; mandatory conservation may be next…
CITY OF SAN DIEGO WATER ISSUES
Today’s (07/28/08) San Diego City Council agenda includes two important items that will affect water usage at your properties:
Item 205 – Water rate increases. The city will vote on whether or not to proceed with property owner noticing requirements under Prop 218 for an increase to its water rates. The proposed increases include an 8.5 percent increase to the commodity fee as well as an increase to the base fee based on meter size (ranging from $0.20-$0.34 per equivalent dwelling unit for meters 1 inch in diameter or less). The proposed rate increases are a result of increases to the cost of wholesale water passed by the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWDSC). (These “pass-through” rate increases are separate from the city’s four-year, 6.5% annual water rate increase that was approved by the city council as part of the Water Department’s capital improvement plan in February 2007).
Item 207 – Declaration of a water emergency. The Mayor’s Office, based on a recommendation from the Water Department and the Governor’s declaration of a statewide drought, is recommending that the city council declare that a water emergency exists within the City of San Diego. With this declaration would come a “Stage One” water conservation emergency that would call for a voluntary 10 percent reduction in water usage. (The city’s current conservation rate is only about three percent, even after the implementation of the county’s 20 Gallon Challenge conservation campaign).
HOW THIS AFFECTS YOU
If the city council approves the water rate noticing today, property owners will begin receiving notices with details about the rate increases as soon as Aug. 7, 2008. A city council vote will be scheduled for Sep. 22, 2008, and the new rates would become effective Jan. 1, 2009.
REGIONAL WATER ISSUES
Another important factor to be aware of is that a model Drought Ordinance is being developed by the SDCWA that could very soon be adopted by water agencies around the county as well as by the City of San Diego. The SDCWA ordinance will be divided into four emergency stages:
Stage One – 10 percent water conservation requirements
(voluntary conservation)
Stage Two – 20 percent water conservation requirements
(mandatory conservation)
- Penalties will be issued to offenders (anticipated by January 1, 2009)
Stage Three – 40 percent water conservation requirements
(mandatory conservation)
- The issuance of new water meters will be restricted (anticipated)
Stage Four – 40+ percent water conservation requirements
(mandatory conservation)
In a recent meeting with the Mayor, the SDCAA was informed that in the absence of significant rain and/or snowfall, a Stage Two alert could be declared by January 2009.
WHAT IS BEING DONE & HOW YOU CAN HELP
The SDCAA is actively working with the SDCWA as they develop the model Drought Ordinance to make sure it reflects the unique limitations of the rental housing industry in controlling the water use habits of renters. It has been said that many water agencies will be reviewing historical water usage when considering fines under the ordinance.
Many different residential and business groups are all vying to provide similar input, which means that we may be calling upon members of the industry to participate in this process by providing us with information, making phone calls, writing letters, etc. If you get the call to action, please assist us in whatever form you can. It’s expected that the model ordinance will be ready for adoption by local jurisdictions in late summer or early fall 2008.
The SDCAA will continue to advocate for reasonable increases over time and monitor the operations of local water providers to make sure that we are not penalized to the benefit of other water users, but there are some things you can do to help control your water costs:
If you have landscaping, consider installing low water usage of low- or no-watering xeriscaping. For additional information on xeriscaping go to http://www.sdcwa.org/manage/conservation-xeriscape.phtml or contact the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College at http://www.thegarden.org/. If you want to contact someone who can help you with upgrading of your landscaping, go to SDCAA’s Web site at http://www.sdcaa.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=162 and perform a business category search using “Landscape Maintenance and Services” listing.
If you are considering water sub-metering or Ratio Utility Billing, please read the California Apartment Association’s Background Paper “Utility Billing Alternatives in Master Metered Apartment Buildings” (http://www.caanet.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Background_Papers1&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=17811). If you want to contact someone who can help you with water sub-metering, go to SDCAA’s Web site at http://www.sdcaa.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=162 and perform a business category search using “Submetering/Billing Services” listing.
If you are considering either of the two options above, be aware that if you wait until an emergency is declared the cost of these services may increase as demand rises. You may want to seek estimates sooner rather than later.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Increasing water costs should most definitely be a consideration when planning you budgeting over the next several years. The MWDSC is projecting a 30 percent increase in water costs by 2012. Those increases are in addition to water transportation, infrastructure upgrades, and expansion of water distribution systems (for additional information on utility rates currently scheduled go to http://www.sdcaa.com/content/view/38/89/ and http://www.sdcaa.com/content/view/100/89/ and read the Utility Rate Increase sections).
We encourage you to read yesterday’s (07/27/08) San Diego Union-Tribune article titled “More waterrate hikes may be ahead.” (http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080727-9999-1m27water.html)
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