Water in Costa Mesa may cost more

Deirdre Newman

The Mesa Consolidated Water District wants to pass increased costs

along to consumers in the form of a 6% rate increase.

On Tuesday, the district’s board will consider sharing the burden

of $1 million in increased water supply costs with its customers.

The proposed increase comes nine months after the district

approved an 11.2% hike to pay for higher energy and water costs.

The $1-million increase in supply costs is a result of other

county water agencies slamming the district with higher fees, said

Coleen Scarminach, administrative services manager for the district.

The district can only do so much on its own to absorb that increase,

she said.

“We have tried to find ways to minimize the effects,” Scarminach

said. “Some labor and benefit costs were controlled by reducing staff

and the budget for temporary labor.”

One of the higher costs the district faces results from a decision

by the Orange County Water District that severely reduced the amount

of water the district could pump out of the groundwater basin.

The basin is getting low because of low rainfall and if the

district doesn’t control the pumping, the water could all be used up

and the basin could collapse, Scarminach said. That means Mesa has to

buy more imported water, which is more expensive, she said.

The 6% hike would translate into an increase of about $1.44 per

month.

Last September, the board unanimously approved the 11.2% monthly

hike. Before that, the last time the district raised its water rates

was 1995. The district serves Costa Mesa and a small section of

Newport Beach, including John Wayne Airport.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.