Lemon Grove approves amendment to wastewater agreement

Lemon Grove unanimously approved a proposed amendment to a Metro Wastewater Joint Powers Authority agreement that is intended to establish fairer billing for pure water program costs and shift voting requirements for major decisions from unanimous to a two-thirds majority.

Metro Wastewater JPA is a coalition of 13 cities and districts in San Diego County that partnered with the city of San Diego to manage regional wastewater, giving non-agency cities a voice when it comes to rates, treatment and sustainability of wastewater treatment.

Council members heard a presentation from agency staff about the proposed change on Dec. 16.

One key update from the amendment would establish a new billing method to allocate costs “more accurately based on how each agency uses the metro system,” said Izzy Murguia, public works director for the city of Lemon Grove.

Notably, the change would adjust voting requirements for major decisions regarding the wastewater agreement from unanimous to a two-thirds majority vote.

Leaders of the Padre Dam Municipal Water District are pushing back against the majority-vote switch. Padre Dam’s wastewater flows into Metro Wastewater JPA’s system for treatment and disposal, but they say the proposed change from a majority vote requirement is too much.

“I think the two-thirds vote is the most fair approach,” Mayor Alysson Snow said. “I think if we give one entity too much power, it’s not going to lead to fair and just r...