Rates! Set! Hike!

As of November 30, the San Diego City Council has approved the Municipal Water District’s plan to raise water rates 41 percent over the next five years. “If we don’t raise rates,” says City Council President Sherri Lightner, "we’ll have to stop repairing water mains. Most of them were originally constructed from papier mache and chicken wire, and when they rupture, they waste more water than a Rancho Santa Fe backyard polo pitch. On top of that we’ll have to shut down our wastewater reclamation project, which means we’ll be on the hook for a $2 billion makeover for our very old, very shitty (ha ha) wastewater treatment plant. The money just isn’t there in the budget for these projects, so essential to our region, which is in the midst of an historic drought.”

In other news, Mayor Faulconer has reassured the Chargers that the county stands ready to pony up its $120 million of the promised $350 million public investment in a new stadium, if it’ll help jump-start construction.