Water Sector News
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San Diego will increase sewer rates 31% over four years for single-family customers
San Diego single-family homes will see a 17 percent sewer rate increase next year and 31 percent over the next four years under a new rate structure the City Council approved Sept. 21.
The plan, which takes effect Jan. 1, will reduce sewer rates for most businesses, condominiums and apartments based on two comprehensive studies indicating that those customers have been paying more than their fair share.
Those studies also determined that customers in single-family homes, who make up about 80 percent of the city’s 2.2 million sewer customers, haven’t been paying enough since the last time sewer rates were analyzed in 2007.
Council members said it’s tough to raise rates when many residents are still struggling with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. But they said the city’s aging sewer infrastructure could collapse without money for upgrades.