Camarillo adopts multi‑year water and sewer rate increases to fund aging infrastructure

The Camarillo City Council and the Camarillo Sanitary District board on May 14 adopted proposed multi‑year increases to water, airport water and sewer rates after a joint public hearing and a series of council deliberations.

Consultant Kevin Kostick of Raftelis told the council the process is governed by Proposition 218 and that rate proposals must not exceed the cost of providing service. He summarized drivers for the increases: reduced water demand following wet years, rising operating costs (electricity, chemicals, personnel), and a multiyear capital program that includes additional local wells, a pump station and major upgrades to the Water Reclamation Plant, originally constructed in 1957. “Primarily, rates can't exceed the cost of providing service,” Kostick said.

A typical single‑family residential bill used as an example — a 3/4‑inch meter using 12 billing units — would…