CHULA VISTA, Calif. — Thousands of South Bay residents could see their water rates begin to increase at the start of 2024.
The Sweetwater Authority, which supplies water to 200,000 people in parts of Chula Vista, National City and Bonita, will be voting on the hike next week. This would be the first time the Sweetwater Authority has raised their water rates in five years. If ultimately approved, this series of rate hikes would begin on January first.
Several residents at Chula Vista's city council meeting Tuesday railed against the proposal.
"The inflation is already bad enough," said one meeting attendee. "I know it sounds like pennies, but those pennies add up!"
"It is so absurd," another resident named Mark said. "I am not going to curse, but if I did, it couldn't be loud enough!"
Under this proposal, rates would increase by:
- .5 percent on January 1, 2024.
- 6 percent in 2025.
- 6.5 percent in 2026.
"Our board has worked really hard to try to really reduce the impact to customers," said Rich Stevenson, finance director for the Sweetwater Authority. "They are concerned about all of our customers."
Stevenson said rising construction and maintenance costs are a primary reason for these proposed hikes.
"We kind of lost ground to inflation that's been in effect over the past five years and so now we need to catch up a little bit," he told CBS 8.
Under the proposal, fixed charges — the fees that all customers pay regardless of their water usage — would increase from 13 to 19 percent. This would mean that customers with relatively lower water usage would see, proportionally, a higher increase to their water bill..
"The water rate should be based in usage and not just the initial flat rate charge," one Chula Vista resident said, "because a flat rate charge for a product not delivered should be zero. Zero, when no product is delivered."
Stevenson pointed out that certain costs are not connected to usage, like reading water meters and providing customer service.
"A lot of other agencies collect between 30 and 40 percent from their fixed charge," he added. "so even after increasing it to 19 percent of our revenues, we still will be one of the lower in the county."
A hearing on this series of proposed rate hikes is set for next Wednesday, December 6. Public participation is encouraged. For more information, click here.