June 27, 2025 #1 Local News, Information and Event Source for the Century City/Westwood areas.

In Marina del Rey, Malibu, water customers missing targets may pay triple fees

(Thinkstock)
(Thinkstock)

Water customers in Lancaster, Marina del Rey and Malibu and some other areas may have to pay triple charges on some of their water bills if they don’t cut their consumption to meet state drought relief targets.

The Los Angeles County supervisors will consider surcharges of 100 to 200 percent for county water district customers who fail to cut consumption by 32 percent in the Antelope Valley, and 36 percent in Malibu, Marina del Rey and Topanga Canyon.

A public hearing was scheduled on the emergency water conservation plan for 1 p.m. Tuesday at the supervisors hearing room in Los Angeles.

City council members in Malibu expressed worry that the rate hikes will unfairly hit persons who already had conserved water in past years, giving them the same punitive water hikes that water hogs will face.

The county runs self-supporting water districts in several rural areas, plus unincorporated Marina del Rey and in the cities of Malibu and Lancaster, which have not taken over ownership of older county systems.

County staffers said in a report that the emergency water cuts of 36 percent in Malibu, Marina del Rey and Topanga Canyon, and 32 percent in Lancaster, will cause a drastic reduction in revenue for county water departments, just as expensive reconstruction projects are underway.

Under the county proposal, all customers will have to meet state targets that are based on collective water use patterns over the past several years. Acton, Kagel Canyon and Val Verde customers must cut water use by 25 percent, Antelope Valley customers must trim by 32 percent, and water customers in Malibu, Marina del Rey and Topanga Canyon must slash water use by 36 percent.

Water rates would not change for water use below those state targets. And the baseline amount will be the average water used by the customer before the drought caused officials to ask for voluntary conservation.

But that means people who conserved water before the drought will face the same cutback penalties that profligate users will face, two Malibu city council members said.

Water use above the conservation target would get a 100 percent surcharge, and if customers blow past their targets by 15 percent, the surcharge would go to 200 percent, under the county proposal.

That means a house in Malibu, Topanga Canyon or Marina del Rey would see a triple water rate for use over 74 percent of baseline measurements. For water use in those areas between 64-74 percent of normal, the rate would be double.

Two Malibu city council members said they worry that the hikes will hit people who have been conserving for years, in an area where some customers show”extremely outrageous water waste (that) is skewing the numbers.”

Laura Zahn Rosenthal and Skylar Peake wrote an open letter, published in the Malibu Times, and asked for”a workable and fair conservation plan that would call for extreme cutbacks for the highest water users, moderate cutbacks for the average user and minimal cutbacks for those who already conserve water.”

The Malibu officials urged stronger tactics against the estimated 1,200″extreme water users in this (Malibu) service area,” to force those residents and businesses “to make drastic cuts” of 60-75 percent.

They also asked the county to transfer water police authority from the County Department of Public Health to the waterworks agencies, and asked that electronic water meters be used to pinpoint water hogs and dispatch county crews when unfair amounts of water are drawn from the county-owned system.

Related Posts

Santa Monica Police Arrest Shooting Suspect After Officer Ambushed Near Downtown Mall

June 26, 2025

June 26, 2025

Man Linked to Waymo Vehicle Gunfire Taken Into Custody Following Tense Manhunt The suspect wanted in connection with a shooting...

Brentwood Weekend Specials: $9 Wine & Street Tacos, Blush-Inspired Lattes & Beauty Swag

June 26, 2025

June 26, 2025

Street Tacos and Wine Meets Self-Care in Brentwood and Santa Monica Brentwood Fine Wines will welcome back local culinary favorite...

Michelin Stars Shine Bright on LA: Somni West Hollywood and Providence Earn Top Honors

June 26, 2025

June 26, 2025

Two Restaurants in Los Angeles Receive Three Stars as Michelin Guide Celebrates Bold Flavors The MICHELIN Guide California 2025 celebrated...

Cherished Culver City Ice Cream Vendor Abducted in Broad Daylight

June 26, 2025

June 26, 2025

Ambrocio “Enrique” Lozano’s Disappearance Led To Grassroots Action Ambrocio Lozano, also known in the neighborhood as Enrique, was abducted around...

Brentwood Home by Landry Design Group Wins Top National Architecture Award

June 25, 2025

June 25, 2025

Landry Design Group Wins Gold Nugget Awards for Brentwood, Crestwood Projects Landry Design Group (LDG) earned two top honors at...

(Video) WISE & Healthy Aging Helps Loved Ones Boost Their Quality of Life

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

See How the Nonprofit’s Innovative Programs Advance the Dignity of Life for Older Adults See How the Nonprofit’s Innovative Programs...

Masked Federal Agents Detain Iranian Asylum Seeker and Wife in Westwood

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

31-Year-Old Woman was Hospitalized After Possible Medical Emergency On Tuesday, June 24, between 11:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., near the...

Los Angeles Leaders Push to Ban Masks for Federal Agents Amid Immigration Raids

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

Concerns Grow Over Anonymous ICE and CBP Officers in Los Angeles   A growing coalition of California lawmakers and local leaders...

(Video) Food Fight: Chefs Join Forces to Raise Money to Protect Immigrant Families in Venice

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

Estrano, Little Dynamite, Sunday Gravy, Kabob Senpai Answer the Call From Turk’s Pizza Party. Dave Turkel Put This Food Resistance...

Squatter-Plagued Beverly Grove Buildings Could Be Razed After Hazard Cleanup

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

Demolition of Three Abandoned Apartments May Begin in Two Weeks Three abandoned apartment buildings in Beverly Grove may soon be...

From Westwood to DTLA, Angelenos March Against Military Escalation in Iran

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Protestors Rally at the Westwood Federal Building This Weekend Following President Donald Trump’s authorization of airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear-related...

LAPD Sergeant Killed Assisting Crash Victims on 405 Freeway in Brentwood

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Tragic Early-Morning Collision Claims Two Lives, Including Veteran Sergeant Two people, including an LAPD sergeant, were killed early Monday in...

Recent Homebuyer Down Payments Slip for First Time in Nearly Two Years

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

April’s Median Down Payment Fell as Buyers Lean Toward Lower-Cost Homes The median down payment made by U.S. homebuyers dropped...

Del Rey Affordable Housing Project to Rise on Former Charter School Site

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Community Corp., Local Faith Group Team Up to Build 122 New Apartments Plans are moving forward for a new residential...

Paris Hilton Buys Mark Wahlberg’s Beverly Park Mansion for $63.1M

June 22, 2025

June 22, 2025

The Heiress and Media Mogul Joins a Star-Studded Neighborhood Paris Hilton and husband Carter Reum have purchased a high-profile estate...