SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA / A news summary : The Local Review / DEVELOPMENTS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Water Utility to Be Sold to Private Firm
WEST COVINA — The city has taken the first step toward selling its municipal water company for $11.5 million to Covina-based Suburban Water Systems, which plans to cut rates by 15% for four years.
City Council members approved the sale Tuesday on a 3-2 vote, with Councilmen Richard Melendez and Ben Wong dissenting.
The proposal is expected to be voted on by its 4,200 customers in the Woodside neighborhood in November through a mail-in ballot. Suburban already provides water to 70% of the city.
“This will cut bills in West Covina,” Mayor Kathy Howard said. ‘A sale is the only way to cut those bills.”
West Covina charges its water customers more because the city is not allowed to pump area ground water, as is Suburban. Consequently, the city must buy more expensive water from the Metropolitan Water District, Howard said.
The city estimates that water customers pay an average of $75 every two months while those served by Suburban in the city pays less than $52.
The six employees of the water company will be absorbed into the Public Works Department, Howard said.
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