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Water conservation worked so well, rates are going up for some Northern California cities

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 28, 2008 at 4:41 pm

From the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat:

Frugal water use last year helped the Sonoma County Water Agency achieve a state-mandated reduction in diversions from the Russian River. Now, the region’s primary water purveyor says it must increase wholesale rates to its customers – North Bay cities and water districts – in part to compensate for the lost sales.

Wholesale rate hikes of 6.7 percent for Santa Rosa and Windsor, 7.2 percent for Sonoma and 10.7 percent for south county cities including Rohnert Park and Petaluma are proposed for adoption in the spring. Officials in some cities said the increases will be absorbed but others said the higher costs are likely to be passed on to water users.

In Petaluma, City Council members said it was frustrating to learn that conservation efforts led to a rate hike – although city officials said it won’t be felt by Petaluma residents just yet. “You don’t want to get penalized for doing the right thing,” Councilwoman Teresa Barrett said at council meeting Monday.

Some cities planned ahead, and not all are considering passing on the increased costs – at least not yet.

“It’s an unfortunate paradox with conservation,” Ban said. “If the revenue goes down you still have to keep the pumps running and the equipment maintained.”

Read the full text of the article from the Press-Democrat by clicking here.

February 28, 2008 · Filed Under Other Water Agencies, Water Agency News (all)

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