Water Rate Hikes Postponed In Los Angeles For Now
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While recognizing Los Angeles needs strict measures to combat a prolonged drought, the City Council firmly rejected a proposal on Wednesday from the local water agency that would raise rates on customers who use excessive amounts of water.
The Council said the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's plan to raise rates on June 1 wasn't clearly articulated.
Clearly frustrated during the discussion period, Councilwoman Janice Hahn complained that she had only received a report from LADWP the day before, leaving her with little time to review it.
"Ms. Hahn is right," Councilman Tom LaBonge said during a brief break. "It's got to be explained better."
The DWP had approved new rates that would have gone into effect on June 1, charging more of residents who did not reduce their water consumption. Officials from the electric and water utility claimed the price increase would affect heavy users more while leaving light users and many low-income residents largely unaffected. The final decision to raise rates was in the hands of City Council.
The decision to nix the new water rates does not mean the debate is over, however. It has instead bought the council more time to deliberate on what to do about the water shortage in a region that is already very dry.
Much of Los Angeles' water gets pumped in from other areas, traveling down the Los Angeles Aqueduct from the Owens Valley and Mono Basin or being delivered via the Colorado River Aqueduct and the California Aqueduct from purchases from the Metropolitan Water District, a regional water wholesaler. The original source for about 85 percent of DWP's water is snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, which has been lower than average because California has seen less rainfall than usual for the past four years.
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In fact, the rainfall for 2006 was the lowest on record, according to William Patzert, an oceanographer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
While demand for water is growing because of population growth, Patzert said in a telephone interview, there is a decrease in supply due to droughts and the effects of global warming.
"It's the divergence of the supply and demand curve. If you think the price [of water] is not going up, you've definitely got your head up your tuckus," Patzert said.
Authorities project Los Angeles will end up with about 15 percent less water than is required to meet its needs in the coming year, and the Metropolitan Water District itself has already threatened to cut its supply to its regional clients. Many involved in the debate seem to agree that water conservation will be critical, but just don't agree on how to decrease water usage.
"We understand the need for conservation and for DWP to try to maintain its credit ratings. The biggest issue is just not telling people what is going on," said Jack Humphreville, the vice president of the DWP Committee of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils Coalition.
"What happens if shortages are less than 15 percent? Are there rebates? Where does the money go? I don't know. Nobody tells you that," Humphreville said, insisting that the DWP had left too many questions unanswered.
Hahn chastised her council colleagues during the meeting for responding with "blank stares" when she suggested water conservation would become a critical concern a year and a half from now, yet she expressed resistance to raising water rates on residents when the city has not yet exhausted its alternatives.Â
She cited a measure in Long Beach that prohibits restaurants from putting water on the table unless a customer orders it.Â
With the rate resolution off the table for now, the LADWP will have to create a new proposal and resubmit it to keep its rate hike alive.Â
Either way, City Council President Eric Garcetti told his colleagues, Los Angeles needs to do something about the water shortage before summer.
