A change in how Lompoc, California, calculates wastewater charges has led to mounting complaints from residents who said their bills spiked and became a major financial burden.<\/p>\n
Here’s what to know<\/p>\n
According to Edhat<\/a>, the issue came before the Lompoc City Council on Oct. 20 after a Sept. 1 billing update triggered sharp increases in some wastewater bills. The anger centered on the city’s decision to drop a four-unit monthly cap on annual residential wastewater-usage increases.<\/p>\n Residents cited a range of jumps in their monthly charges. One said a bill went from $55 to $120, another from $46.40 to $167.04, and another from $46.40 to $296.96 \u2014 more than six times the earlier amount.<\/p>\n After the change, the city started basing a full year of charges on water consumption from the previous winter, using January-through-March use to establish the winter average. The revision also removed the four-unit cap that had previously limited how steep bills could climb.<\/p>\n Management services director Bob Cross said the per-unit base price had stayed at $9.28 since 2017. He said the higher totals stemmed not from a rate increase, but from more usage being counted once the cap was gone.<\/p>\n More background<\/p>\n For homeowners elsewhere in Southern California looking for more predictable monthly costs, going solar is one of the best ways to save money on home energy. Palmetto<\/a> is currently running an exclusive offer for Southern California residents that allows customers to save an average of 40% on their electric bills with $0 down.<\/p>\n Martin Bender, co-chair of the Utility Commission, said some people used extra water on their yards during winter because they believed the old four-unit ceiling would keep any wastewater increase in check. After that limit was removed, they were billed far more than anticipated.<\/p>\n Residents and council members also pushed back on the city’s rationale that software was to blame. Staff said Munis, the city’s billing platform, could not automatically handle multi-year averaging, but critics argued ratepayers should not pay more because of a technical limitation.<\/p>\n What’s being done?<\/p>\n Cross said the impact has varied across the city. City staff told the council that 40% of customers saw no bill change, while 20% saw decreases. Still, 8% of customers saw increases above five units per month, and some monthly wastewater bills rose by $300 or more.<\/p>\n In response, staff mailed about 50 letters to households with major billing shifts, asking them to look for possible plumbing leaks. The city has also reworked usage calculations for 28 customers.<\/p>\n Council members discussed several possible next steps, including manually restoring the cap, finding software workarounds, creating a multi-year sliding-scale formula, and offering payment protections or hardship assistance to help residents avoid utility shutoffs.<\/p>\n Cost stability is also why Palmetto<\/a>‘s offer stands out for homeowners trying to reduce other monthly bills. With Palmetto’s help, the average Southern California resident can save 40% on their electric bills, which can add up to thousands of dollars per year.<\/p>\n City staff are expected to return at the council’s November meeting with legal and technical options for bringing back the cap or otherwise providing relief. A Wastewater Cost of Service Study is also slated for presentation in early 2027.<\/p>\n Where can I learn more?<\/p>\n Similar fights elsewhere show how changes to utility pricing and water use can send household costs soaring.<\/p>\n \u2022 In California, a homeowner cut usage after summer pricing tiers drove<\/a> a $637 bill higher.<\/p>\n \u2022 In San Jose, residents and council members pushed back as garbage and water rates<\/a> climbed.<\/p>\n \u2022 A tenant said a landlord’s irrigation demands sent the water bill<\/a> soaring over lawn waste.<\/p>\n \u2022 In Texas, residents challenged a utility after a $4,500 meter demand<\/a> threatened shutoffs.<\/p>\n \u2022 In Delaware, PFAS treatment costs sparked warnings that sky-high water bills<\/a> should not hit households.<\/p>\n Get TCD’s free newsletters<\/a> for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A change in how Lompoc, California, calculates wastewater charges has led to mounting complaints from residents who said…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":507893,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8],"class_list":["post-507892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=507892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/507893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=507892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=507892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=507892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}