Sewer fees to rise by double digits in Cardiff, central Encinitas

Residents in Cardiff will see their sewer fees increase by 15 percent for each of the next four years, while central Encinitas sewer customers will see their rates go up by 19 percent for each of the next five.

The Encinitas City Council gave its initial approval to both sets of substantial price increases Wednesday, but said the increases will be revisited on an annual basis to determine if they are still warranted.

Unfortunately, at the moment, this situation looks extremely likely, council members and city employees added, saying that the sewer lines are in need of repairs and the city hasn’t raised its sewer fees in years.

“It’s not a small sum, but … it has to be done,” Mayor Tony Kranz said before the vote.

If Encinitas experiences a major sewer line break because it didn’t fund repair work, it could have a far more costly situation with substantial environmental concerns, he said.

Councilmember Kellie Hinze said the increases were a “shock to the system,” but said most other agencies also are experiencing double-digit price increases. Councilmember Joy Lyndes said the recent soaring costs of construction work make the rate increases a necessity.

Council members’ comments came after several public speakers said the rate increase was too much, too fast.

Encinitas is served by three wastewater entities, two of which are run by the city. The Cardiff Sanitary Division handles 84 miles of sewer pipes in Cardiff and Olivenhain, and the Encinitas Sanitary Division has 39 miles in the city’s mid-section. Both of those divisions are run by the city. A third entity, the Leucadia Wastewater District, covers much of the Leucadia and New Encinitas regions and has its own rate-setting process.

The Encinitas Sanitary Division hasn’t raised its rates since fiscal year 2013, so it has been dipping deeply into its reserves of late to cover expenses, city employees said. Even with the new, 19-percent-a-year increase, there’s going to be a several-year period before that reserve fund can be replenished, they said.

The Cardiff Sanitary Division last raised its rates in fiscal year 2019, so it’s in a slightly better position. Its rate increase plan calls for four years of 15 percent increases, followed by a 10 percent increase in the fifth year.

In Cardiff, the average residential sewer customer currently pays $527 per year. Under the first year of the increases, the average Cardiff residential customer will receive a bill for $606, and in five years that will rise to $1,013.

The city’s central Encinitas sewer customers currently pay $471 a year. Their average first-year bill will be $561, and in the fifth year it will be $1,124.

This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune .