High quality drinking water at reasonable rates.

By Mike Healey

Drinking water must be safe, taste good and be fairly priced.

Annually, hundreds of tests are conducted on your drinking water. Test results appear in the annual State required Water Quality Report. Copies of this report are provided to MESA's customers. There has been a lot of discussion about Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) and the effect it has on drinking water. MTBE is a major additive in gasoline and its use is mandated by State and Federal law in an attempt to reduce air pollution. Due to leaking underground fuel storage tanks and pipelines, MTBE is finding its way into underground water supplies. Several areas throughout California have had to discontinue pumping from their wells due to contamination. MESA has been a leader in an effort to effect legal changes in the use of MTBE. Orange County remains some what free of MTBE contamination within the ground water basin. MESA's desire is to keep it that way.

Due to superior management, MESA has been able to realize operating efficiencies that have permitted the District to provide its customers a four cent (.04) per unit rebate, which appears on their regular water bill. This rebate began in September and will continue through June 1999. Future rebates will become a discussion item during the preparation of the annual budget.