CVWD holds public meetings on possible rate hikes
A proposed rate hike could have water wasters paying big-time in parts of the Valley.
The public workshop held Thursday was the first of several to be held before the Coachella Valley Water District votes on a rate increase in June.
In a sparsely populated room, CVWD explained the proposed rate hike and answered questions.
“We don’t have a lot of options here based on the mandates from the state. We do have to comply and that complacence is going to cause us to raise our rates,” said CVWD General Manager Jim Barrett.
Those mandates include drought restrictions and removing a chemical called chromium-6 from the drinking water. To do that, CVWD is building a $250 million water treatment plant.
“We’ve started design. It’s about 90 percent complete. We expect to start construction about the middle of this year and we expect to be complete about three years later in the middle of 2019,” said Barrett.
The CVWD said for most people it will be about a $6 increase, but if you don’t stay within your water budget you could pay possibly hundreds more.
“I believe they are doing a good job, but people on fixed incomes it’s just too much all at once,” said Thousand Palms resident Gary Burns. “I think they need to take a second look at it and maybe phase it in over a longer period of time.”
“The rate hike is necessary. We have though from when we bought here in 2003 that the water rates in this area are incredibly low, much much lower than the San Francisco Bay area, much lower in speaking with Canadian neighbors than they pay. They have not been an incentive for people to conserve,” said Palm Desert resident Pam Stroud.
To help people conserve, the water district will forecast water budgets ahead of time.
“If people have concerns meeting their budgets give us a call we would be happy come out and help,” said Barrett.
The vote on the increase is expected in June.
The CVWD says even with the increase it will be on par with other districts in the Valley, but not for long. Desert Water Agency is now beginning the process to determine whether it needs to raise rates as well.
Additional public workshops are scheduled Monday and April 27 at 5:30 p.m. at the CVWD Coachella office at 51501 Tyler St.; and May 2 and May 11, at 5:30 p.m. and 10 a.m., respectively, at the Steve Robbins Administration Building.
