A feared hike in water costs for local farmers won’t be as bad as first expected following a reversal from the San Diego County Water Authority.

Water officials have bailed on earlier plans to sharply reduce a special water-rate discount enjoyed by many San Diego-area farmers — a discount the agricultural sector sees as a key policy keeping their struggling industry afloat.

In May, the authority had warned it might have to roll back the special discount because of falling demand for its water and other financial challenges.

But on Thursday, the authority’s board unanimously backed a plan to spend millions in property tax revenue each year to keep farmers’ water costs down.

Lisa Marie Harris, the authority’s finance director, called the new framework a “win-win.”

With an agricultural s

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