Water rationing, rate hikes on tap for SoCal - AUG 07

The moves come as a combination of drought, rising demand, fragile ecosystems and endangered fish has dramatically reduced the region's water supply. MWD imports water from the Colorado River and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, but the river is in the eighth year of a drought that has significantly reduced that supply.

Officials with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California - the agency that sells water to cities in the region - said the factors could push wholesale rates up as much as 10 percent within two years. The MWD rate hikes will also be passed on to the 24 cities served by the Central Basin Municipal Water District, said district General Manager Art Aguilar. Those cities include Whittier, Montebello, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, Monterey Park and La Mirada.

And they predicted the trends could mean the region will lack water to meet all of Southern California's demands about 70 percent of the time.

A court ruling has significantly reduced how much water can be exported from the Delta - where the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers merge - to prevent the extinction of a tiny fish that keeps getting sucked into massive water pumps.

In the wake of the ruling, MWD will have to cut its supply of water from Northern California by 25 percent.

SOURCE: WhittierDailyNews.com