Politics & Government
Water Rate Hike Kicks in July 1
Palo Alto increase to help pay for water system upgrade both at Hetch-Hetchy and locally city.
Starts saving your pennies—or dollars.
The Palo Alto City Council approved an 8 percent increase to water rates at a special session last week.
According to utilities spokeswoman Debra Katz, "this increase should come as no surprise to anyone who has been following the developments over the last few years as Palo Alto has invested heavily in its future high-quality water supply."
Not only has the city made infrastructure investments locally, but so has the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to the Hetch-Hetchy water system—$4.6 billion worth. As a buyer of Hetch-Hetchy water, Palo Alto must contribute its share to the investment that would upgrade the water distribution pipeline to cause little interruption in the supply of water in case of a natural disaster like an earthquake.
The council did not increase electric, gas or sewer rates for Palo Alto residents and businesses.
The hike goes into effective July 1.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
