Supervisors OK increase for Antelope Valley water rates.

Despite this winter's record rainfall, water rates are still headed up in the Antelope Valley, raising costs for developers, businesses and residents.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has upped rates 20 percent to 42 percent to existing commercial and residential customers, and it is set this month to vote on a proposed 74 percent hike in the cost of hooking up new homes and businesses to the system.

County officials say the rate hikes are critical to meet stricter water quality standards and pay for new wells and other system improvements as the region grows. But the increases likely will result in higher home prices.

"Any time you have a price increase in the permitting process, it will have an impact on prices. They'll be passed along," said Gretchen Gutierrez. executive director of the Antelope Valley chapter of the Building Industry Association of Southern California.

County Waterworks District 40 is facing dwindling supplies and rising prices from its two main sources of water: pumped ground water and the Antelope Valley East-Kern Water Agency, which gets its water from the State Water Project.

Some of the funds will finance a system to bank water purchased from the water agency so it can be used to recharge underground water supplies. The district also plans to treat recycled waste water from the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts so it can be used for irrigation. but not for food crops.

Having had to shut down three wells from arsenic contamination, the district wants to build better treatment facilities to prevent any more well closures.

Builders complain

The monthly water charge for the average district residence had ranged from about $9 to $16. largely depending on usage.

Meanwhile, the proposed 74 percent hike in connections for homes and businesses would raise those costs to $5,900 for a standard house connection to $11,800 for connections used by manufacturers that consume the largest amounts of water.

Firms building new homes in the valley include Beazer Homes USA Inc., Pacific Communities Builder Inc., Richmond American Homes and KB Home.

Member companies of the building association are expected to receive 3,985 permits to build new homes in 2005, primarily in developments in Lancaster and Palmdale. Developers must have proof of a water connection before permits for new homes are given.

"We know that local government has to balance many considerations, but of course we are concerned about any increase in fees that potentially creates a potential burden for area homebuyers," said KB spokeswoman Kate Mulhearn in an e-mail statement.

The other companies declined comment, referring questions to the building association's Antelope Valley chapter, which has lobbied the county to lower the rate. However, the lobbying has not been particularly successful.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, who represents the area and often supports business interests, favors the rate hike.

"The proposed developer fee increases will ensure that new development pays its fair share for acquiring and treating water, as well as providing the necessary infrastructure," he said in a statement.

This is not the first time that a water price increase has filed commercial users in the Valley.

The world's two largest carrot farms, Grimmway Farms and William Bolthouse Farms Inc., claimed in a 1999 suit that the county's supply of water to residents impinged on their rights to draw ground water for irrigation and conduct their business.

The county countersued, claiming that the farmers drew so much ground water that parts of the valley's aquifer have collapsed, reducing its ability to be recharged.

The litigation has not been settled, though the county is seeking a court order to create a ground water district legally empowered to monitor usage.