Higher Camarillo water rates leave users with that sinking feeling




Camarillo’s water rates are on the rise, and it seems there’s little we can do to stem the tide.

Due to the prolonged drought and recent cutbacks in wholesale supplies, local residents are being told they must reduce their consumption or pay a higher price.

But even after they make an effort to conserve, users in other water districts have complained to the Acorn
that they must still pay higher fees. It’s like they’re being penalized for their conservation, and it just doesn’t make sense.

The save-more, pay-more scenario could be headed for Camarillo as well.

Here’s how it works:

Water companies set their fees based to some extent on the law of supply and demand, but not entirely. In the water utility world, and especially during times of drought, consumers are encouraged to use less supply, not more. In the regular business world we’re told just the opposite. But as revenue streams dry up, water purveyors are forced to raise their rates to make ends meet. (Salaries and infrastructure at the water district don’t come cheaply.)

So consumers who use less water still wind up paying more.

Make no mistake about it. Using more water doesn’t pay either. The tiered rate structure implemented by most water districts means that the more of the stuff you use, the higher your incremental costs will be. People whose lush backyards are drowning in wasted irrigation will pay a pretty penny, and they should.

There’s plenty of blame to go around—the aforementioned backyard water guzzlers, for starters. If you want green, really green
, please move to Florida.

California’s gonzo permitting process and super-strict environmental laws also translate into higher water costs. Another reason for the current predicament is Mother Nature herself. We’re just not getting the rainfall and snowpack that we used to, which, in all fairness, is more about climate change than anything else.

Still, most of the blame falls on you and me, the people whose demand for spas, swimming pools, homes and shopping centers is sucking more water out of the ground than the skies can reasonably replace.

There will never be cheap water again, but that doesn’t mean we should stop conserving. Now, more than ever, water conservation should be a top priority. There’s only so much to go around.