The cost of water could soon rise for more than a million people in East Bay communities of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Tonight the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) will consider a six-percent price hike for this fiscal year.

(UPDATE: District directors approved the increase unanimously)

Water districts around the state are also increasing rates as customers conserve water.

“It’s a horrible conundrum,” admits Herb Niederberger, a division chief at the Sacramento County Department of Water Resources. “The more you conserve, the better it is for the utility, but at the same time, less revenue is generated and in order to cover costs you have to raise rates.”

The Sacramento agency and EBMUD are completing a regional water-supply project.
EBMUD is also contemplating another six-percent hike next fiscal year.