San Diego City Council Delays Water Rate Restructuring Vote After Three Members Absent

The San Diego City Council delayed a vote Tuesday on a proposed restructuring of city water rates after three council members were absent and it was unclear whether the council had the votes to comply with a court order requiring the change.

The proposal, Item 330 on the Oct. 6 City Council agenda, would replace San Diego's current seven-tiered water rate structure with a single unitary rate of $11.09 per hundred cubic feet — about 748 gallons — for all customers. The change is intended to bring the city into compliance with Proposition 218, the 1996 voter initiative that requires water agencies to charge customers no more than their proportional cost of service.

The courts sided with a group of water customers who sued the city in 2015, finding San Diego had failed to present enough evidence to justify charging higher rates to heavier water users as a conservation incentive.

The City Clerk reported 3,644 written protests during the 45-day comment period — far short of the 132,968 required to block the proposal under Proposition 218 rules, according to a meeting summary by Citizen Portal.

Under the proposed unitary rate, single-family homes in the lowest usage tier would see their water bills increase by about 7.1 percent, while apartment buildings would save between 2.2 and 2.6 percent, according to city estimates. Single-family homes in the heaviest usage tier would see savings of about 5.9 percent.

KPBS reported that with three council members absent, it was not clear the city had the votes to comply with the court order. The matter was continued to October 27.

The rate restructuring is separate from the across-the-board water rate increases of 14.7 percent in 2026 and 14.5 percent in 2027 that the council approved last year to cover rising water purchasing costs and the Pure Water recycling infrastructure program.

The City Council meets at 202 C Street in downtown San Diego.