Audience's concerns went unanswered at water meeting

Unless you plan to drill a well or bathe in bottled water, customers of water companies are over a barrel when it comes to rate increases.The capacity crowd that filled the Meadow Vista Community Center on the evening of Sept. 19 may well have felt that way. I was present, and I know I did.Customers of Midway Heights County Water District (MHCWD), a water company that sells treated and untreated irrigation water to customers across four square-miles in portions of the Meadow Vista/Weimar area of Placer County, attended a public hearing in protest of the astronomical water rate increases being proposed by the District.The district's explanation for the rate hikes included:Hiring an additional employee at a starting cost of $75,000/year, and a projected five-year cost of $474,500. The district currently has three full-time employees costing approximately $328,000/year. A pie chart at the meeting vividly illustrated this huge salary bite: 44 percent of the district's total budget.Capital Improvement Projects totaling $800,000 over the next five years.Increased water purchase costs. MHCWD does not operate a treatment plant; they buy their treated water from Weimar Water Company and their untreated water from Placer County Water Agency. Both these entities recently raised their purchase rates by approximately 20 percent. The Public Hearing began with a 30-minute slide-show by the MHCWD general manager, promoting the district's activities. The next 30 minutes was a presentation by the rate consultant. An hour into the meeting the public was allowed to speak.At the hearing, and earlier via social media, MHCWD customers expressed anxiety about the severe financial impacts the rate increases would have. Elderly couples, and those living alone, who use little water, will see their water bill increase dramatically if tiered rates are dropped. Add to that the district's proposal to increase their fixed rate by 31 percent — a charge imposed even if you don't use a drop of water. Water bills would eventually double for customers purchasing both treated and irrigation water. One speaker, a knowledgeable former MHCWD manager, noted the increased irrigation water rates could force customers to drop this service and use treated water for irrigation. This loss of irrigation revenue would eventually force the district to raise rates, yet again, and possibly result in greater flow demands to the treated water distribution system than it was designed to handle. Increased fire danger was a fear. Canceling irrigation water service, as one attendee stated, would dry up acres of vegetation.The audience and the board were civil, with one exception. President Craig Stone banged the gavel at the three-minute time limit when one speaker was in mid-sentence, despite there being few speakers and ample time. Cries of "let him speak," were shouted from the audience. Stone reluctantly allowed the speaker to continue. Interestingly, the president had dropped the gavel when the speaker's subject turned to a proposed extension of the irrigation system. After being gaveled, the speaker, whose introduction affirmed his expertise in water matters, looked pointedly at the board and said, "You know where I'm going with this." When he was allowed to continue, he revealed that the proposed irrigation extension would benefit two of the five board members. Existing MHCWD customers have never funded water system extensions to new areas. Those who benefit typically shoulder the cost — a policy common in the industry.The evening was not completely adversarial. Thoughtful solutions were advanced by audience members: What about long-term financing? Low-interest, long-term loans for approved current and future capital improvements are available, and would spread the costs over several decades? The current district bond expires at the end of this year. What about consolidation? Midway Heights, Weimar Water, Meadow Vista Water and Placer County Water Agency are four water companies sitting on top of each other. Consolidation would spread costs over a greater number of customers.How about including customer Input? The formation of a customer group was proposed. The group could focus on developing funding alternatives that did not inflict exorbitant rate hikes.Following the public comments, the protest letters submitted by customers were counted. A high bar of around 246 letters was required to prevent adoption of the rate increase. A disappointing 86 had been submitted.The board voted to postpone the rate increase decision until its October board meeting, stating the need to consider the public input. Strategic planning was added to the agenda. If "strategic planning" includes the proposed customer group, it will go a long way to restoring customer confidence in the MHCWD board.Concerned customers should plan to attend the Oct. 17 board meeting, to be held at 7 p.m. in the Broadwell Room of the Meadow Vista Community Center. MHCWD will not be mailing notices of the meeting to its customers but will post them as required by law. Pauline Nevins is a Meadow Vista resident.