A proposal to raise sewer rates for several hundred Kern County residents tied into the Bakersfield sewer system failed to pass Tuesday. Supervisors Philip Peters and Leticia Perez voted against the rate increase while a lawsuit between the county and the city of Bakersfield plays out. … Residents of County Service Area 71 are not inside Bakersfield city limits, but the county does not have its own wastewater treatment plant for those residents and ties into the city of Bakersfield’s sewer system. Residents pay the county an annual wastewater fee, and the county then pays the city for the service. With the city increasing its rates, the county will now have to pay more to supply the service to residents.

Other water and wastewater rate news:

• KRIS (Bakersfield, Calif.): City approves water and wastewater rate increases starting in January 2027