1 week Ago
Carlsbad’s residential water and sewer rates will increase 20% on July 1 and a total of 49% over the next three years under a plan approved Tuesday by the City Council. Several residents opposed the rate hikes, but city staffers said they are needed to pass along a 14% increase in the price of water purchased from the San Diego County Water Authority and to cover inflation and the rising costs of maintenance and capital improvements. “It sounds like a lot .
.. but everything is going up,” said Councilmember Priya Bhat-Patel.
The City Council approved the new rate structure on a 4-1 vote with Councilmember Melanie Burkholder opposed. Burkholder said the higher bills would be bad for business, and that the city should “do more with less” and consider deferred maintenance. Other council members said any delays in maintaining the water system will compromise service and are likely to cost ratepayers more in the long run.
Councilmember Teresa Acosta said the situation is frustrating, but unavoidable. “It is incredibly expensive to live here,” Acosta said. “There are all kinds of factors that are increasing costs.
I only worry that costs will continue to go up.” By state law, the city’s rates cannot exceed the cost of service, and the city cannot profit from the system. Also, the city cannot take money from other sources such as the general fund to supplement water revenue.
The average single-family home in Carlsbad pays about $73.91 per month for water, the lowest in San Diego County, according to a city staff report. That will go up to $91.
10 on July 1, when it will remain below the countywide average water bill of $114.49 per month for a single-family home. “There is incredible value for your dollar here in Carlsbad when you pay your water bill,” said Utilities Director Amanda Flesse, adding that each gallon of tap water costs the customer less than one cent.
After the 20% increase July 1, Carlsbad’s combined residential water and sewer rates will go up an additional 14% on Jan. 1, 2026, and 9% more on Jan. 1, 2027, according to the report.
The current combined water and sewer bill, now an average $125.65 per month for a single-family home, will increase by $61.75 to a total of $187.
40 per month in 2027. This year, Carlsbad will switch from a three-tiered residential water system to two tiers. The system is intended to charge more to cover the higher cost of delivering excessive water in the upper tiers.
The third tier was dropped for efficiency because studies showed little difference in costs between the upper two tiers, Flesse said. Commercial rates also will go up, although the percentage depends on multiple factors, such as usage and the size of the connection. Rates for recycled water, used primarily for irrigation, will increase about 5% annually.
The Carlsbad Municipal Water District, with the Carlsbad City Council as its board of directors, has about 29,000 connections within the city. The southernmost portions of Carlsbad are served by two different water districts — Vallecitos and Olivenhain Municipal — that establish their own rates. Carlsbad is home to the Claude “Bud” Lewis desalination plant that opened in 2015 and is named for a former Carlsbad mayor.
The privately owned plant produces about 10% of the region’s water supply. Located at the edge of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon, the plant sells all its water to the County Water Authority, which distributes it along with imported water to cities and unincorporated areas throughout the county, including Carlsbad. Desalinated seawater is the region’s most expensive single source because of the high cost of electricity needed to filter the water and pump it uphill to a water authority connection.
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