SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The Uptown Car Wash in Hillcrest has been a haven for the budget shopper.
The company offers a wash for less than $10, while a full detail is more pricey.
However, the costs for those services likely are increasing.
That's because the San Diego County Water Authority this week raised water rates by 14%.
The higher water bills are expected to begin in January for the county's 23 agencies, including the City of San Diego, which has raised water bills 16% the past few years.
"They buy their water from suppliers and they raise their costs and pass them through, right. So, the city has to raise their rates," said Alan Krahenbuhl, Uptown's general manager. "But it puts pressure, and ultimately that pressure is passed through to the end user. So, we have to figure out ways to save money — how to use less water."
Krahenbuhl says this increase, combined with prior rate hikes the past few years and other factors, make it tough to offer a bargain car wash.
"When we introduced that one it was $6.99, then $7.99 and now $8.99. So, it has gone up a little bit each year," he said. "And it will probably go up another dollar next year. We try to stay under that $10 mark or less."
He said each day, the Uptown Car Wash services about 260 vehicles and uses more than 6,000 gallons of water.
He's not happy about the cost going up for all that water.
The county said it realizes that cost increases are hard to swallow.
But, a county official said the agency has cut expenses, put off projects and sold surplus water to keep the rate hike down.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, whose city is the largest customer of the county's agencies, said it could have been worse.
Gloria said city officials pressed the county to drop the rate hike from 24.5%.
