Huntington Beach

Water rate increase goes to council

A PROPOSED increase in water rates goes before the Huntington Beach City Council on Monday.

A proposal to raise water rates goes before the Huntington Beach City Council when it meets on Monday evening. The council will convene in its chamber at 2000 Main St. (at Yorktown Avenue) at 6 p.m.

What’s proposed is a series of increases in water costs for not only the water itself, but also a capital charge for the city’s infrastructure including water wells, production and distribution to deal with the maintenance and modernization of a system that’s 30 to 60 years ago.

The impact of the water rate hike will vary by user and volume, but – according to a report by Travis Hopkins, the city’s director of public works – a typical single family user now paying $25 for water and a $11.82 meter charge for a total of $36.92 month will see a hike to $25.99 for the water, a $12.70 meter charge and a new levy of $3 monthly for an increase to $41.69 per month.

That number assumes that the resident uses 12 units of water per month and a standard three-quarter inch meter.

The commodity charge is based on what the city expects to have to pay for water imported and purchased from the Orange County Water District and the Metropolitan Water District. The capital charge will go toward work on the city’s water system.

If approved, the capital charge will go into effect on July 1, 2018.

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