I don’t want to say I told you so, but I did. Our water districts have been pushing conservation because they saw what was coming.

And now it’s happened, the Metropolitan Water District, the agency that distributes water imported from the north and the Colorado River to the region, voted Tuesday to implement an allocation plan that cuts the amount of imported water local agencies will receive by 10 to 15 percent. Yes that includes Hacienda Heights and Rowland Heights. Hello!

The MWD board of directors also voted to increase water rates by 20 percent this year, and plan to raise them by as much next year. Can you afford a 40 percent increase in your water bill during these hard times?

The actions mark the first time since 1991 that imported water has been rationed and the first time in since 1993 that rates have increased so dramatically.

“Today is really a historic day, it is a day many of us hoped we wouldn’t come to,” said board chairman Timothy Brick, who represents the city of Pasadena on the board. “The challenges we face today are as great as any board of Metropolitan has faced … It represents the end of an era of cheap water.”

Read the whole story in the Rowland Heights Highlander.