Some officials in Santa Cruz county have been debating whether a number of water customers (who live outside the city of Santa Cruz) should still be charged surcharges or not. Some say that the nearly 90 year-old surcharge has ‘outlived it’s usefulness’. Some 35 percent of city water customers live outside the city (mostly in the Live Oak, and Carbonera areas)….and because of the surcharge they are paying 14.5 percent more than their in-city counterparts.