America’s largest water district raising rates 40%, says conservation cut revenue

Just The News ^ | 14 APRIL 2024 | Kenneth Schrupp

[Sam77]

America’s largest water district says declining revenues due to increased water conservation are forcing the agency to significantly raise water rates to remain solvent.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which supplies water for 19 million Americans, is raising its rates 8.5% in 2025 and another 8.5% over baseline levels in 2026. The district’s projections include raising rates an additional 11.5% in 2027 and another 11.5% in 2028 to finance an $8.2 billion water recycling plant that could provide enough annual water for 1.5 million people.

[Blue Highway]

Raise rates. The California solution.

[Rlsau1]

They could have used just a portion of the money they threw away on the rapid rail boondoggle to finance a project which actually benefited the population.

[ComputerGuy]

...finance an $8.2 billion water recycling plant that could provide enough annual water for 1.5 million people...

That's over $5K per person.

[null and void]

That's over $5K per person.

I know! Raise the rates!!!

[mewzilla]

Beatings will continue until morale improves!

[roving]

Electric company gives you tips and how to cut cost and then everybody does it and they make no money. So they raised the rates to make up for it.

[mewzilla]

https://www.mwdh2o.com/budget-finance/

Good luck easily finding out how much money goes where.

Bet they’ve never had to undergo a decent audit.

[Da Coyote]

So the ‘lucky’ ‘Fornians get to pay a lot more for recycled piss. Ain’t leftism great?

[Mouton]

In Virginia circa 1977 there was a drought. The water people did all they could to conserve water. Being a good citizen I went overboard on saving. After the third billing cycle I got contacted by the water authority as they wanted to test my meter. Only day I was home was Saturday so they scheduled a meeting for then. Finally about midafternoon guy shows up, reads my meter, comes in takes some gallons from tap and goes out and reads meter again. Announces all is fine. I asked him why he was there and he replies my usage had dropped precipitously over the months. II said I am conserving like your organization requested. He said well you must be the only one! I was so POed I went back to normal usage as I gave up a day for this nonsense.

[FreedomPoster]

My former suburban city of 50k pop did a better budget document. Wow.

And I bet their Director of Finance or whatever makes $250k a year or better.

[Don W]

That’s exactly what the water board in the city I used to live in did: encouraged major reductions in water use then complained about lack of sales and raised the rates to make up the shortfall.

Conserve water from a recently enlarged reservoir system having nearly quadruple the standard per capita storage, in the Pacific Northwest rainforest.

The rates went from reasonable (for water that literally falls from the sky) to higher than what Israelis pay for water they have to manufacture and protect from terrorists.

[Sequoyah101]

When you think you ARE NOT the only one doing something civic minded and right YOU ARE the chump.

[Openurmind]

“Raise rates. The California solution.”

Not all situations are the same. In this particular situation and water district they absolutely deserve it for using and wasting too much water considering the limited supplies. For far too many years the Metropolitan water district area has been abusing water like crazy. Lake Powell, Lake Mead, and the Colorado river are EMPTY and the flow is about to stop altogether.

Most of water goes to the southern Ca Los Angeles metropolitan area as a first priority over all the other states in the pact because of their population density. People claim it is mostly for agriculture. This is absolutely false. The fact is there are far far too many Golf Courses, Swimming Pools, Artificial Lakes, Parks, Etc. These along with extremely wasteful habits and practices such as washing cars twice a week needed or not and competing for the greenest lawn have created an unsustainable situation that is now costing other states their fair share too.

Like most liberal ideology they hypocritically operate with the fantasy world assumption that resources are unlimited and endless. They want everyone else to cut back but they refuse to practice it themselves. It really is time for a serious intervention that actually get their attention. And the only real way to do this is to hit them hard in the pocket book so that they will think twice about their wasteful lifestyles.

They are already doing this to us in Az because of the limited sources including the Colorado River. All the other states in the Colorado River Pact are being forced to do the same. Why? So that the Los Angeles basin can have and waste as much as they like as a priority allotment. It is wrong and they do indeed need a hard lesson about supply and demand.

Even worse is the fact that Mexico made a treaty agreement with us for allowed water that we have been breaking for years because none ever gets there past L.A. We legally either owe them water allotment back retroactively or financial compensation because none ever gets there. This cost and situation is a NATIONAL and south western states problem not just a California problem.

If they are not forced to cut back on use, in the end it will cost the federal government and every taxpayer in the country because the L.A area is abusing and wasting so much water. If they didn’t waste so much they would not have to steal so much from everyone else.

[Getready]

Collecting rainwater for washing and showering and home grown vegetables would be cheaper, bottled water for drinking and cooking.

[bgill]

The only solution is to bring in more illegals to use more energy and water.

[Trump Girl Kit Cat]

OK so they are skyrocketing rates to supply water to 1.5 million WHEN the need is for 19 million, liberal math!!!!

[sheana]

I used to live in California. When they would start talking about drought and saving water I’d say....when they kick all the illegals out that are using MY water, if we’re still in a drought I’ll do what I can. That never happened so I used all the water I wanted.

[guest7]

"...declining revenues due to increased water conservation..."

BS!!!

It's "Kalifornica". Waste, fraud, and mismanagement.

The Sacrament River; the L.A. River (a World Heritage Site); doesn't conserve a single drop of water.

This is the L.A.River.

Where they filmed the "Terminator Chase" scene.

The Kali Dems send it all back out into the Pacific Ocean.

They haven't built a reservoir in 34 years.

They are "saving" the two-inch, Snail Darter tho.

They are building a "Bullet Train" to nowhere. It's a few Billion over budget...but that shouldn't affect the water conservation problem...should it?

[umbagi]

Austin, Texas charges extra for rainwater collection “because it goes into the sewer.” That may have changed since I got out of Dodge, but I doubt it. The lady I talked with about it couldn’t explain how rainwater that was uncollected didn’t go into the sewer…