East Bay MUD to vote on continued water cutbacks

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- East Bay MUD's board of directors will have a meeting this afternoon to vote on continued voluntary water cutbacks of 10 percent.

The board will also vote on buying water from the Sacramento River. This will be the first time that they have to do that and they will need it to get through the year. They will vote on using funds they already have in reserve to pay for it, so customers will not see a rate increase.

"Customers initially responded in 2008 with a 19 percent reduction and they continued 17 percent through today," said Andy Katz, East Bay Municipal Utility District.

"Do you think that's in part why the cutbacks are not mandatory?" asked ABC7's Amy Hollyfield.

"Absolutely, because the East Bay community conserved water through those years we are not in a crisis today," said Katz.

The plan is to buy enough water from the Sacramento River to supply about 54,000 average homes for a year; East Bay MUD serves 1.3 million people. Currently, the reservoirs are only three-quarters full.

The drought situation is worse in other parts of the East Bay. Tonight, water officials for Dublin, Livermore and part of San Ramon are holding a special meeting to discuss a proposed drought rate increase aimed at reducing water usage by a third. According to the Contra Costa Times, water suppliers are proposing sharp increases for customers who fail to slash their water use by 30 to 35 percent.