California water departments are increasing rates and adding fees because they are losing money as customers conserve. Despite the governor's mandate for citizens to drastically reduce water use, water companies still have fixed costs, such as repairing pipelines, customer service and enforcing water restrictions. And those costs aren’t decreasing.
“Just because you use less water does not mean you have lower rates or a lower bill,” said Lori Dolqueist, an attorney representing private utilities. “All of these agencies and private water companies are being told to sell less of what they do. It’s a challenge financially.”