Water rates in Thousand Oaks will go up in November and again in July despite the pleas of residents who asked the City Council to protect them from higher water costs.

On Sept. 22, a unanimous vote of 4-0, with Councilmember Dennis Gillette absent, raised the rates beyond what some public speakers said they could afford.

Commercial and multifamily water rates will increase by 17 percent, but it was those who live in single-family homes who asked the council not to increase their water rates by using a new tiered system based on consumption.

A low water user who pays $36 a month now will pay $41.46 beginning in November, with a 15 percent increase, and $45.89 in July after an 11 percent increase. An average water user who currently pays $69.86 a month will pay $81.36 after a 16 percent increase in November and $90.83 in July due to a 12 percent increase.

High water users who now pay $166.06 will start paying $223.46 in November after a 35 percent increase and $251.27 in July with a 12 percent increase. Rates are estimated monthly, but bills are sent out every two months.

Eight speakers, each allotted four minutes, shared a variety of opinions. Some objected to differences in billing between commercial and residential properties.

“Burdens placed on residents should be carried by everyone,” Kathleen Doran said.

“A gallon of water is a gallon of water is a gallon of water,” Rico Lagattuta said. He also said there isn’t a water shortage but an unfair water availability shortage. He rejected the idea that homeowners should have to let their landscapes die because they can’t afford the water. Residents, Lagattuta said, need to be able to keep the city beautiful.

Rates that go up during droughts don’t come back down when there’s rain, 32-year resident Robert Hodson said, referring to his experience with past rate increases under similar circumstances. He also said rates that go up to pay for capital projects don’t come down after the projects are built.

It’s a fire hazard to be unable to water lawns, said Sandra Duke.

Doran said she’s already poisoned her grass to save money on water, but her family still needs to wash clothes and take showers.

Michael Adams said he predicted the “runaway rate increases” and sees more increases in the future.

“We don’t seem to be sharpening our pencils when it comes to salaries and benefits,” Adams said.

The city, he said, should build a desalinization plant to avoid being held hostage by Metropolitan Water District, the wholesale water supplier.

“I pay $400 for my water bill every two months,” said 44-year resident Elain Boydston.

She said she has three horses she may not be able to keep if the rates go up because they drink 12 to 18 gallons a day.

Some municipalities make allowances for those with livestock, but Thousand Oaks doesn’t because livestock require less water than landscaping, said public works director Mark Watkins.

Karen Lyman, a mother of four, made another plea to the council as she declared, “We cannot afford this,” and, “You’ve got to fight for us and our families.”

The city doesn’t make money on the water company but tries to break even, Watkins said.

The cost of water, two-thirds of the water company’s budget, has gone up, and the city’s water company must pass along that expense to customers, he said.

The tiered system was applied to residents to discourage water use but not applied to businesses in Thousand Oaks because the city “doesn’t want to punish a business because it’s successful,” Watkins said.