ESCONDIDO -- The city will host two public workshops next week to discuss a proposal to sharply increase water rates for above-average and excessive users in Escondido.

The workshops will include a presentation by city officials about the rationale for the increases, which would take effect Feb. 1. Officials will answer questions and explain to residents and merchants how the new rate structure would affect them.

The first workshop will begin at 7 p.m. Monday in the Mitchell Room of City Hall, 201 N. Broadway. The second workshop will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday in the East Valley Community Center, 2245 E. Valley Parkway.

Residents and merchants will also get a chance to voice their opinions about the increases at 7 p.m. Jan. 14, when the City Council is scheduled to discuss and approve them. The city mailed charts that summarize the new rates to all users in late November or early December.

The increases differ from typical rate hikes for Escondido water users, which have generally affected all users equally in past years.

Every user will see a 6 percent increase to cover rising labor and maintenance costs. But that would be the extent of the rate hike for homes that use less than 7,000 gallons of water per month, the median amount used by Escondido households.

But households using more than 7,000 gallons per month would see increases of more than 6 percent and as much as 19 percent.

In addition, some users might see even sharper hikes if the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California declares a "Level 2" water emergency. In early December, district officials said there was a 50 percent chance they would declare such an emergency in early 2009.

"The new rates are designed to reward those who use less," said Richard Walker, the city's deputy utilities manager. "It's all being done to encourage conservation."

Using less water has become increasingly crucial to the city as the state's drought has continued into an eighth consecutive year.

To make matters worse, Southern California officials are bracing for a 30 percent reduction in supplies from Northern California because of a 2007 federal court decision. The ruling restricts water deliveries from north to south in order to save an endangered species of minnow called the delta smelt.

Plentiful rainfall in December has put the city's total precipitation above average for the season, but Walker said it was not clear how much that would help.

City officials presented the rate hike proposal to the Escondido Chamber of Commerce last month. Chamber chief executive Harvey Mitchell said Friday that he was impressed by the level of detail from city officials.

But Mitchell also said he was concerned about how the hikes might affect some businesses that have difficulty conserving water, such as restaurants. He said the city should consider how many jobs a business provides for the community before hitting them with drastic increases.

"We don't want to run good businesses out of town," Mitchell said.

Lisa Prazeau, president of a slow-growth advocacy group called the Escondido Chamber of Citizens, said Friday that she agrees with creating incentives for conservation.

But she also said the hikes would not be necessary if the city had not irresponsibly allowed too many new housing developments during the past decade. Those developments have increased the stress on the city's equipment, creating maintenance cost increases that are not covered by the ratepayers who buy those homes, Prazeau said.

"This shows that development really isn't paying its way," she said. "These increases keep piling up on residents, and we're tired of it."

Contact staff writer David Garrick at (760) 740-5468 or dgarrick@nctimes.com.