FALLBROOK: Utility customers face rising water costs District to pass along water purchase costs from suppliers
By: Morgan Cook

Monthly utility bills could increase about $10 starting in July for most Fallbrook Public Utility District residential customers if the district follows through with its plan to pass along rising costs from its water suppliers.

Homeowners in the district pay an average of $98 per month for water, sewer and operations fees, officials said. The average bill would climb to $108 if suppliers increase water prices by 20 percent as predicted, a district official said this week, adding that rate increases would probably be limited to water while sewer and operations costs hold steady.

The district would use the money to cover its costs.

"One thing people tend to forget is that we don’t make any profits," district General Manager Keith Lewinger said of the nonprofit district. "Our expenses have to be paid, so the only reasons we would raise rates is because our costs are going to go up."

Metropolitan Water District, which supplies water to 19 million people through 26 Southern California cities and districts, plans to raise rates 12.6 percent to cover increased costs to import water, according to a January letter to its board of directors.

Those costs will be passed along to San Diego County Water Authority, which sells water to the district, Lewinger said. Authority officials are considering a 15 percent to 20 percent increase in costs to its customers.

Lewinger said he won’t know exactly how much water rates will increase for district ratepayers until suppliers announce their increases.

Customers can expect a notice about water cost increases in mid- to late April, Lewinger said.

The district serves about 35,000 people in the Fallbrook and Bonsall area.

Agricultural customers will be the hardest hit by increases because they use the most water.

An avocado grower can use about 1.3 million gallons of water per acre each year, agricultural experts have said.

At current rates, it costs the district's growers about $3,000 in water to cultivate an acre of avocado trees for one year. A 20 percent increase would add an extra $600 ---- a big expense when an acre of avocados can produce an annual gross income of $8,000 to $15,000.