Hello all you New and Potential San Diegans!

I hope you are doing well. It’s been a few days since I’ve written, but things have been a bit busy around here. I got your letters about cost of living in San Diego, and I just wanted to let you know that I understand completely. One of your biggest worries seems to be that dreaded sewer bill.  I feel ya! 

Well here’s the truth of the matter.  Unless you’re a long time San Diegan or moved to San Diego just before November, you will not have experienced the famous Winter Monitoring Period.  See my last blog for details.  Unfortunately, new residents will just have to pay according to the average San Diegan’s water use.  You will pay as if you use 9 HCF of water each month, even if you use more, or less.  This is in effect until the City can monitor your water use during a full Winter Monitoring Period and establish your personalized sewer charge.  Even then, your new, individual rate doesn’t go into effect until the following July. This means you could be paying according to the City average for a year and a half! 

I know this “city average” business sounds horrendous.  Why should you pay as if you used 9 HCF when you’re only using 4!  That is why the Water Project is currently negotiating with the City to change this policy.  We are very close to working out the details and will notify you of the new system as soon as it goes into effect!

In the meantime, I thought I would give you the current figures so you could at least budget for your future expenses:

Every two months you will be billed about $101.34 for sewer (it actually varies a bit depending on the exact number of days in the billing cycle). 

Your water bill will be based on your actual water use, and the average water bill is now about $140.   

So just budget for a $240 water/sewer bill every two months.  Budget more, possibly way more, if you take very long showers or have a big yard that you like to keep green, and you'll avoid the bi-monthly sticker shock. 

Again, once you get through a Winter Monitoring Period, your sewer service charge will change come the following July.  But for now, to water those gorgeous lilies, you will just have to pay based on the average San Diegan’s water use until we complete our negotiations with the City. 

We’ll keep you posted!