Court case could be blow for California drought fight

An appellate court ruling due by next week could put a glitch in plans to reach Gov. Jerry Brown's goal of slashing urban water use by 25% statewide.

When Brown announced on April 1 his historic order to cut water use from 2013 levels, he told water agencies to use pricing structures that encourage conservation. In other words, he directed them to charge higher rates to people who use the most water.

But those kinds of rate structures are under fire in a San Juan Capistrano case that could affect water districts statewide. State law prohibits water agencies from charging more for water than the cost of producing and delivering it. A group of San Juan Capistrano residents has challenged the city's tiered rate structure, arguing that it resulted in arbitrarily high fees.

About two-thirds of California water agencies already use some type of tiered structure, and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is considering expanding its tiers, charging even more for high use.
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