Water bills mailed on or after March 1, 2024 will reflect increases in the water usage charge and the emergency water storage fee due to increased costs from the San Diego County Water Authority (Water Authority). The increase from the Water Authority is primarily related to the higher cost of water treatment, desalination and water purchased from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

As shown in the graph below, approximately 18% of the revenue generated by water usage charges is utilized by Vista Irrigation District to cover operating and maintenance expenses; the remaining 82% is used to pay the Water Authority for water purchases.

A typical residential customer’s bill (3/4” meter and 24 units/bi-monthly billing) will increase by 4.6 percent. The water usage charge in each tier is increasing by 43 cents per billing unit (after applying the 9.6-cent per billing unit rebate as approved by the Board of Directors). Below are links to two documents; one showing the financial impact of the water usage charge increase on a typical residential customer and the other showing the full rate and fee schedule effective March 1, 2024.