Court Ruling Makes Tiered Water Pricing Difficult for California Drought Efforts

"In a decision that could raise obstacles to water conservation efforts across the state, a Southern California appeals court has rejected the city of San Juan Capistrano’s adoption of tiered rates to encourage customers to use less water," writes Dan Brekke for KQED's California Report.

Ruling on a case initiated by taxpayers, a three-judge 4th District Court of Appeal found that the city’s water-rate scheme violated provisions of Proposition 218, a constitutional amendment passed in 1996 to limit service fees imposed by local agencies.

The 4th District panel’s reasoning rests on a series of state court rulings that have held that Prop. 218 requires water rates to reflect the actual cost of providing service to individual properties.

Thus, the ruling technically doesn't make it illegal to use tiered ratings. The water agency would have to justify the tiered ratings by showing that it "reflect(s) the additional cost of providing higher volumes of water to some customers," which apparently the attorneys for San Juan Capistrano were unable to do.

Gov. Jerry Brown indicated his strong displeasure with the ruling:

“The practical effect of the court’s decision is to put a straitjacket on local government at a time when maximum flexibility is needed,” Brown said in a statement. “My policy is and will continue to be: Employ every method possible to ensure water is conserved across California.”

Penny Nelson of KQED Forum, a radio program, spent a half hour discussing the ruling with the San Jose Mercury News' environmental reporter, Paul Rogers, who is also managing editor of QUEST, KQED’s weekly science and environment program. Call-ins were taken.