The city of Plymouth is scheduling a special meeting for 5 p.m. Monday to discuss cancelling a Nov. 17 public hearing that was set to possibly raise water rates for city residents.

The higher rates would have been to pay for the water pipeline to be constructed by Amador Water Agency in 2009 to bring Mokulumne River water to Plymouth.

The original pipeline estimate was $12 million. Based on bids received Thursday, the pipeline is now estimated to cost $10.2 million.

Plymouth is now asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture for an additional grant to assist the residents of Plymouth in keeping water rates at a reasonable level. Also, the city will be meeting with local developers to obtain financial assistance to cancel further rate increases.

In 2006, the city adopted five annual rate increases of 16 percent each. This results in a typical monthly residential water bill of $79.33. Currently, the typical monthly bill is $49.87, following implementation of two of the five rate increases.

City council members have expressed concern that further rate increases may not be affordable for many Plymouth residents. In 2000, the median annual household income for Plymouth was $37,262, well below other local and national figures:

In 2006, the engineering firm Black & Veatch published a survey of California water rates. The survey indicated the average monthly bill was $36.39; the highest bill was $130.90; and increases averaged 5.5 percent per year since 2003.