How does San Diego calculate its combined monthly water and sewer bill for residential customers?
The city’s residents pay a monthly base fee of $15.87 for water services. In addition, they are billed for their actual water usage as measured by meter readings. To encourage conservation, the fees get progressively steeper as people use more water. The steepest rate is charged to those surpassing 10,472 gallons per month, the average amount used by residents. Meanwhile, customers pay a monthly base fee of $11.32 per month for sewer services. The city charges additional sewer fees based on the customer’s average water usage from December through March. The assumption is that during the four-month rainy season, people are not using as much water for irrigation and most of their water is being discharged into the sewer. Mayor Jerry Sanders seeks to change the pricing formula for sewer services. He wants to combine a new monthly base fee of $12.31 with additional charges based on 95 percent of wintertime water usage. 2. Sanders is proposing rate increases for water and sewer services. Ho
