A vote Tuesday more than doubled water rates for farmers in the Turlock Irrigation District.
The district board’s 5-0 decision, which came over objections from a few customers, still leaves TID among the lowest-cost suppliers in California.
The charge for an acre-foot in a normal or wet year will go from $8.25 to $17.50, assuming an allotment of 4 acre-feet per acre over the irrigation season. The dry-year price will rise from $15.50 to $36.50, based on 2 acre-feet. An acre-foot covers an acre a foot deep; the 2015 allotments have not been set.
District leaders said the increases were needed to cover operating costs, upgrade the canals and other assets, and protect TID’s rights to the Tuolumne River.
http://www.modbee.com/news/local/turlock/article6302268.html