6-20-2018
ANACORTES, Wash. — Farmers hooked up to the Anacortes city water line will soon begin paying 900% more for water as the city votes to end a special rate that had been in place since the 1930s.
The Skagit Valley Herald reports the 15 farmers hooked up to the city pay 11% of the more than $2,400-per-million-gallons of water wholesale rate, while residents subsidize the rest of the cost.
The change means by 2021 the rate for farmers will increase from about $240, to the wholesale cost, which small farm owners have said will hurt their farms.
Last year, agriculture customers used about 1.5% of all the water sold by the city.