Water Conservation Rate Hike Voted Down by Council

A proposed LADWP rate hike on customers who do not conserve water was unanimously rejected by the LA City Council today. If passed, the proposal would have gone in effect this summer forcing users to reduce usage to under a certain amount (on average, 15% less) or have significantly higher rates. The council's consensus was that they had not enough time to fully study the motion. "City water department officials say that 85% of single-family homeowners and 94% of low-income residents would not see an increase in their water rate or would even pay less under the proposed ordinance," reported the LA Times.