San Diego could raise water rates by 61% and sewer rates 32% over four years to cover sharply rising costs for workers, imported water, chemicals, energy, construction projects and other priorities. The increases, which would incrementally kick in between January 2026 and January 2029, are recommended by two new studies analyzing future revenues and expenses for the city’s water and sewer systems. The hikes wouldn’t be finalized until City Council votes scheduled for September. The city’s independent budget analyst says it will hire a consultant to evaluate each study and perhaps recommend changes. The possible rate hikes would be on top of previously approved increases for city water and sewer customers that are already scheduled to kick in during the coming months. Sewer rates are scheduled to rise by 3% on Jan. 1 under a series of rate hikes the council approved in 2021, and water rates are set to rise 8.7% then based on hikes the council signed off on last year. And water rates will likely rise another 5.5% on May 1 to cover a jump in the city’s costs for importing water in 2025 that will be larger than expected when the council approved the 2023 hikes. The council’s budget committee voted 2-1 Wednesday in favor of the May 1 water rate hike, sending it to a possible final vote by the full council in early March. The Jan. 1 sewer rate hike will bring monthly bills for typical single-family homeowners to $53.07. The four subsequent increases recommended by the new sewer study would push typical monthly bills just above $70 in 2029. The study recommends sewer rate increases of 7% in January 2026, 6% in January 2027, 8% in January 2028 and 8% in January 2029. Compounded, the total increase would be more than 32%. The May 1 water rate hike would bring monthly bills for average single-family home water customers to $90.67. The four subsequent increases recommended by the new water study would push typical monthly bills to more than $145 in 2029. The study recommends water rates rise by 13.7% in January 2026, 14.5% in January 2027, 11.5% in January 2028 and 11% in January 2029. Compounded, the increase would total more than 61% over those four years. City officials say the combined water and sewer bills for an average customer in 2026 would remain below the San Diego County average, and far below what customers pay in San Francisco and San Jose. But officials haven’t provided comparison numbers for the subsequent increases in 2027, 2028 and 2029 that the new studies call for. The higher sewer and water bills in San Diego come just as the city prepares to begin charging single-family homes for trash and recycling services. Councilmember Kent Lee has been lobbying for a water rate subsidy program for low-income residents, particularly seniors on fixed incomes. “For many residents, the increases they are seeing at this point are beyond what they can afford,” Lee said during a Wednesday hearing on the water and sewer rates. Roughly half the total water increase would be the result of projected hikes in how much the city pays the County Water Authority for imported water. The other half would be the result of increasing expenses for the city’s water system. Juan Guerreiro, director of the city’s Public Utilities Department, said energy costs are up 30 percent, chemical costs have doubled, and bids for pipe replacements and other projects have come in 25% to 100% higher than engineers’ estimates. Also, most city employees got incremental raises last year that are continuing to kick in, totaling nearly 23 percent in just over two years. And Guerreiro said those raises have helped reduce the department’s vacancy rate from 25% to 15%, boosting customer service and reliability but also increasing costs. The city also has set aside $118 million it might have to pay ratepayers if it loses its appeal of a legal decision. A court ruled in 2021 that the city’s tiered water rate system violates state law. A ruling on the city’s appeal is expected by June. While near-completion of the Pure Water sewage recycling system next year could slash expenses, city officials say they plan to shift the money they were spending on Pure Water to installation of smart water meters and shoring up aging dams. On the water authority side, rates are expected to keep rising as the authority deals with a major financial crisis blamed on a long-term drop in demand for imported water. The fundamental problem is that the authority borrowed money to build and maintain a significantly larger water storage and delivery system than is now needed, with people using less water and the local farm industry shrinking. San Diego, the water authority’s No. 1 customer, has shrunk the percentage of its water supply that’s imported from about 90% to less than 80% over the last few years, thanks to previous rainy winters. The rain, which gets stored in city reservoirs, increases the local share of the city’s supply. Pure Water, a sewage recycling system, is projected to increase the local share to 37 percent by 2028. But projections show that as city purchases from the water authority dwindle, any savings get more than erased by the costs of the water going up. The city is projected to slow its purchases between fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2027, from 128,603 acre-feet of water to 106,000 acre-feet of water. But costs for imported water are still projected to grow from $247 million to $330 million because of steadily rising rates.