That’s what a 15 percent price increase means to Ventura county residents who will see their average monthly bill of $32 increase by about $4.

Will this increase reduce water demand? Probably not. Will it cover higher costs? Probably. Will it prevent rationing? Nope.

In a semi-related story, LADWP has 15 “water cops” on the street, giving out tickets for such crimes of watering during the day. Total ticket revenue? About $75,000. Total cost of cops (and their Priuses!)? About 20 times that.

While I understand that cops are deterring more people from wasting water than ticket revenue might imply, I also know that they are a huge waste of resources.

LADWP could get MUCH BIGGER reductions in water use by raising prices! And by more than the price of a latte/month.

Bottom Line: Give everyone some cheap water (about 75 gallons/person/day) and charge everyone who uses more $10 to $20 per 750 gallon unit. Higher prices will “help” more people conserve in more ways than the water cops ever thought possible!