Southern California's primary water supplier voted Tuesday to tighten deliveries and raise fees charged to its member agencies by nearly 20 percent due to dwindling reserves amid ongoing drought conditions.
The decision has set the stage for the most severe cutback in deliveries to San Diego, Riverside and other Southern California counties since 1991, the North County Times reported.
Individual customers will likely see rates go up $2 to $5 a month later this year.
The Metropolitan Water District says the state's critically low water supply, restrictions on water pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and a significant increase in population since the last drought in 1991 have led to the water district seeking higher fees.
<!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;It marks only the third time since Metropolitan began delivering water in 1941 that the agency has cut deliveries to residential water users. The agency cut deliveries 17 percent in 1991 and 10 percent in 1977.
