Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Trickle-down Economics

Escondido city councilmembers want to be fair when adjusting water rates, but water is scarce, and over the past year regional water suppliers have raised rates by 17.5 percent while reducing water allocations by 8 percent.

To address the water shortages and rate increases, the city wants Escondido residents to change their lifestyle and reduce their water usage by eight percent. At the same time, at an August 12 city council meeting, councilmembers voted to increase water rates by eight percent, raise wastewater fees by five percent in January, and increase agriculture rates by eight percent in February.

Director of Utilities for Escondido, Lori Vereker, said that while there has been a citywide reduction in water consumption, the city can't help it if Metropolitan Water District, the area's water supplier and the largest water supplier in the country, closes the water spigot while raising rates.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"The community as a whole has done pretty well on their cutbacks," said Vereker. In addition to Metropolitan Water District's new rates, Vereker says Escondido's water infrastructure is "aging" and "requires replacement and ongoing maintenance.”

"There has to be a change," said first-term councilmember Olga Diaz, who was one of four who supported the rate increase. "[We need to] accept that we live in a desert. It just can't be lush and green."

Though, for many of Escondido residents, increasing their rates on water while telling them to conserve the resource is telling them to pay more for less.

"As long as all of us are under a water alert level two and are sacrificing our lawns and facing increased water rates, I'm asking that the Escondido City Council postpone the approval of building permits until we are no longer in this situation," said one of the ten residents who spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting.

"The reality is we have to raise the water rates because the city can't absorb the expense," added councilmember Olga Diaz.

"We are making every effort to be fair," added councilmember Sam Abed. "It is a tough situation. Is it good timing to provide an eight percent water increase? Absolutely not. Do we have any other choice? I don't think we do."

Shortly after Abed's comments, the council voted four to one in favor of increasing rates. Councilmember Marie Waldron was the only councilmember opposed.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Halloween opera style

Faust is the quintessential example

Escondido city councilmembers want to be fair when adjusting water rates, but water is scarce, and over the past year regional water suppliers have raised rates by 17.5 percent while reducing water allocations by 8 percent.

To address the water shortages and rate increases, the city wants Escondido residents to change their lifestyle and reduce their water usage by eight percent. At the same time, at an August 12 city council meeting, councilmembers voted to increase water rates by eight percent, raise wastewater fees by five percent in January, and increase agriculture rates by eight percent in February.

Director of Utilities for Escondido, Lori Vereker, said that while there has been a citywide reduction in water consumption, the city can't help it if Metropolitan Water District, the area's water supplier and the largest water supplier in the country, closes the water spigot while raising rates.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"The community as a whole has done pretty well on their cutbacks," said Vereker. In addition to Metropolitan Water District's new rates, Vereker says Escondido's water infrastructure is "aging" and "requires replacement and ongoing maintenance.”

"There has to be a change," said first-term councilmember Olga Diaz, who was one of four who supported the rate increase. "[We need to] accept that we live in a desert. It just can't be lush and green."

Though, for many of Escondido residents, increasing their rates on water while telling them to conserve the resource is telling them to pay more for less.

"As long as all of us are under a water alert level two and are sacrificing our lawns and facing increased water rates, I'm asking that the Escondido City Council postpone the approval of building permits until we are no longer in this situation," said one of the ten residents who spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting.

"The reality is we have to raise the water rates because the city can't absorb the expense," added councilmember Olga Diaz.

"We are making every effort to be fair," added councilmember Sam Abed. "It is a tough situation. Is it good timing to provide an eight percent water increase? Absolutely not. Do we have any other choice? I don't think we do."

Shortly after Abed's comments, the council voted four to one in favor of increasing rates. Councilmember Marie Waldron was the only councilmember opposed.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About doTERRA

Next Article

Domestic disturbance at the home of Mayor Gloria and partner

Home Sweet Homeless?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader