Water

By Lawrence J "Larry" Kramer, Capt, USN (Ret.)

It is vital that we diversify our sources of water while providing water to our residents at a fair cost.

We have just implemented new water and sewer rates. The sewer rates will not increase for the next four years. We are minimizing the increases in water rates by delaying the time to establish needed financial reserves and only funding a bare bones capital improvement program. We are also moving forward with a proposal to refinance some of the utility debt at lower cost that will help shorten the time to build adequate financial reserves. We will continue to research other ways to reduce costs while providing reliable services.

While the Metropolitan Water District, our major supplier, has done a good job of building and filling reservoirs, it is important to continue to conserve so that those reservoirs of water will last through this unprecedented drought. Because this may be a long-term problem people should be educated on the importance of reducing water consumption. In addition to educating the public through more advertising, it would be beneficial to target the residents who may not be using their water most efficiently. The city should monitor water usage closely and those whose use appears excessive be notified that there may be ways to reduce their use of water. This is being done in other cities in Southern California. The city should offer to inspect their system for them and/or explain how they can have an audit of their usage done at no cost to them.

We are working with other water related agencies to find ways to weather the current drought and protect the San Juan Basin while making it more productive.