Los Angeles Ratepayers Rewarded For Conservation With Higher Bills

Los Angeles ratepayers did a good job conserving water amid the California drought, but they will be rewarded with what may feel like a punishment: higher bills.

“Under orders to slash their water use in the fourth year of a statewide drought, Los Angeles residents and businesses have largely risen to the challenge. But in October, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) officials said that because its customers have done such a good job saving, the agency is short on revenue. To help fill in the gap, the Board of Water and Power Commissioners approved a pass-through charge that will require an average customer to pay about $1.80 more a month, beginning in 2016,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

LADWP CFO Jeff Peltola explained the predicament: "Our revenues were down about $110 million," he said, per KABC.

DWP budget official Neil Guglielmo told the Los Angeles Daily News: “Our customers have done a tremendous job of conserving water, which is great for the city, but it means there is an impact to our financials.”

Needless to say, customers are frustrated. "It sounds a little bit like we did such a good job, and then now we're having to pay a little bit of a penalty for doing such a good job," said Sam Corral of Los Feliz, per KABC.

The city outperformed water conservation goals set by policymakers. “The mayor called for a 20 percent decrease by 2017. Gov. Jerry Brown issued mandatory urban water cutbacks in April, and some state water districts saw steeper drops,” the Daily News reported.

The tension between water conservation and revenue is plaguing utilities across the country. "The need for more reliable revenue is more important than ever, as water service providers contend with prolonged droughts and aging infrastructure. Unfortunately, this need for revenue can make conservation the unwanted stepchild of water utilities," according to an editorial published by National Geographic.

For more on the Western drought, visit Water Online’s Water Scarcity Solutions Center.