The Kern County Water Agency is poised to cut off the only water source for a 600-home development in Stanislaus County as of June 30 unless residents there agree to a 200% increase in water rates, jacking up their bills to $600 a month. Even then, the increase will only buy a bare minimum of water through Dec. 31, according to a letter from KCWA to the Western Hills Water District. … Western Hills serves the Diablo Grande development, once planned as a sprawling 5,000-home luxury golf community in the foothills west of Patterson. KCWA put Western Hills on notice April 2 this year that it intends to terminate the 24-year-contract under which it has been delivering water to the community. KCWA’s stance is that Western Hills stopped paying the water delivery costs five years ago, racking up $13 million in debt, and KCWA can no longer carry that load. Though the water Diablo Grande residents run through their taps is actually State Water Project overseen by the Department of Water Resources, that agency is staying out of the fray.

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• ABC10 (Sacramento, Calif.): Diablo Grande faces water rate hike or service cut