DWP’s Water Rate Increase Approved by L.A. City Council

Water rates in the city of Los Angeles would increase slightly in order to pay for safety improvements at the Department of Water and Power’s reservoirs under a plan tentatively approved today by the Los Angeles City Council.

The rate adjustment was approved 9-4, with Council members Mitch Englander, Paul Koretz, Jan Perry and Dennis Zine dissenting. Because the ordinance failed to receive 12 ayes, it will be back next week for a second vote.

The DWP’s average residential customer currently pays $40.30 per month for water. This is less than last year’s average monthly water bill of $44.47 due to the heavy snowpack, which means the utility has had to purchase less water. However, assuming an average water year and final approval of the rate increase, the monthly bill will increase to $45.91 in the next fiscal year.

This adjustment is the first part of a larger rate increase proposal that will be considered by the Board of Water and Power Commissioners and ultimately the Los Angeles City Council. That discussion was placed on hold until the executive director of the Office of Public Accountability was hired. Frederick Pickel was confirmed to that position yesterday.

The Department of Water and Power is facing $553 million in construction projects that will bring it into compliance with state and federal drinking water standards. Among those projects are the Headworks Reservoir near Griffith Park and the addition of shade balls to the Los Angeles Reservoir.

However, those projects and the urgency with which they need to be done were called into question by Zine before he voted against the project.

“I’ve been drinking this water for my whole life and I haven’t had any health problems in my entire life here in the city of Los Angeles,” Zine said. “All of the sudden people get suspicious and say all of the sudden it has to be done right now. We’ve had the water here. We’ve had the reservoirs. We’ve been using this for many, many years.”

DWP General Manager Ron Nichols told council members the utility could be fined as much as $25,000 per day per violation if it fails to meet the state’s deadlines on water quality.