EBMUD Looks At Buying Water, Customers Could Face 14 Percent Surcharge
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) -- Despite a wet weekend, the East Bay Municipal Utility District said they still need more water. The district is looking at buying billions of gallons from the government, but customers would pay a steep price.
The recent rain is a welcome sight that's helping Bay Area Reservoirs. The Lafayette Reservoir is one percent higher. But, every bit counts, every drop matters, especially during the holidays.
During the four-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend, EBMUD said they got an additional 200 million gallons of water, but customers consumed 500 million gallons.
Water use is actually down 10 percent. "Essentially we've gone from half empty to half full," Abby Figueroa of EBMUD said. "Well, not really we need a lot more rain this season."
They can buy the extra water they need from the federal government's Central Valley Project.
"Bring in about five billion gallons of water, that's a month's worth of water for us, from the Sacramento River through a federal contract we have," Figueroa said.
The district buys it, but customers pay for it, a 14 percent increase could be coming as early as next month.
The board will vote on the proposed hike next week.
