By Mary O’KEEFE

Customers of Crescenta Valley Water District will be receiving notices of a public meeting regarding a proposed increase in water rate and charges. The increase results from companies that supply water to CVWD and increased water rates the district is being charged. The public meeting will be held on Oct. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the CVWD office, 2700 Foothill Blvd.
CVWD imports water from Foothill Municipal Water District who imports its water from Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. In September 2009, Foothill increased its water rate charges to CVWD by 19.7%. This was in response to a Metropolitan increase. To counteract that almost 20% rate hike, CVWD increased rates to its customers by only 2%.
The district attempts to soften the increases by adjusting other areas in their budget, said Christy Scott, CVWD spokeswoman.
“We slashed our capital improvement project and used about $500,000 out of our reserve,” Scott said. “In January we expect a rate increase by Metropolitan of an estimated 7%.”
The new rate requested by CVWD will be an 8% increase for the average customer.
“That is a $9.50 increase for the average customer every two months,” Scott explained.
The exact amount of the increase will vary depending on the individual customer use.
For the complete public notice, visit the CVWD website at www.cvwd.com. Scroll down to Changing Events and click on Public Notice of Proposed Increase of Water Rates and Changes.

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