54% Water Rate Hike Over 4 Years Sought

Pomona officials are asking the City Council to increase water rates for the average household by 54% during the next four years to raise money to overhaul the city’s water system, which dates to turn of the century.

The latest proposal comes after more than 18 months of debate that has seen the council reject a one-time, 30% rate hike for residents and businesses and suggest a phased increase to fund $77 million in new pipelines and storage facilities, officials said.

“Most the city’s water pipelines haven’t been replaced in years,” Assistant City Administrator Noelia Chapa said. A staff report recommends that the council enact the ordinance later this month.

The rate hike, the city’s first since 1988, would make the typical household’s bimonthly bill climb in stages from an average of $40.54 to $62.53 over four years. If the plan wins council approval, rates would increase 17% this year and then 12%, 10% and 7% in successive years. The rates will still be lower than those in most the cities in the San Gabriel Valley, officials said.

Mayor Edward Cortez said a water rate increase is inevitable. “Sooner or later we going to have to repair the pipes. The longer we wait, the more it will cost,” Cortez said. “We have to bite the bullet.”

The council is not required to put the issue before voters, according to the city attorney’s office. But some Southern California cities are already interpreting Proposition 218, a state initiative approved in November, as requiring a vote on water-rate increases.