Local News in Brief : Santa Ana : 18% Water Rate Hike Postponed Until 1989

An 18% hike in water rates will be postponed until 1989, the City Council decided Monday.

The council approved the increase last July as part of the 1987-88 budget. A $2 monthly increase in water meter service charges has been in effect since then, and the 18% increase in the basic water rate--from 55 cents to 65 cents per 100 cubic feet--was to take effect last month. The average residential water bill would have gone up about $4 a month with both increases.

Instead, the basic rate will increase about 7% next January. City Manager David N. Ream said the rate hike was postponed because several water system improvement projects that the increase would have helped pay for were put off until next year.