By Gary Meyer, TME

Lebec County Water District has announced that a public hearing will be held on February 3, 2022, at 6 p.m., via Zoom, on the matter of a proposed water rate increase for its customers. See the public notice of the rate increase hearing on the front page of www.mountainenterprise.com in the far right column. The public hearing is scheduled on Zoom for February 3, 2022, at 6 p.m.

Hearing location: Zoom Meeting. The meeting can be accessed by logging in at https://zoom.us/join, or by phone. Zoom Meeting ID: 84133500202, Passcode: 034546 or Phone in at: {669) 900-6833. You will need Meeting ID and Passcode to phone in.

In California, water districts can find themselves between a rock and a hard place when it comes to keeping the public supplied with clean and safe drinking water.

Water “districts,” such as Lebec County Water District (LCWD) and Frazier Park Public Utility District (FPPUD), are different than mutual water companies such as those found in Pine Mountain Club and Pinon Pines.

A water district is a local government (public) agency, whereas a mutual water company is private.

Decisions Must be Made

When a water district’s board of directors reaches a point where its infrastructure or equipment require major repairs, overhauls or expansion in order to continue meeting its obligation to safely serve its customers, the question of how to pay for the improvements arises.

Because water districts are public agencies, they are required to follow strict rules established by law.

The process typically starts with a need identified by a water agency’s board of directors to upgrade—such as drill a new well, replace old deteriorating water lines or convert a non-metered system to one that measures the amount of water being used. All of this is extremely expensive and, if not done, could result in the system breaking down, leaving many people without water.

Assurances Needed

The State of California (the State) has a stake in seeing as many small water systems as possible upgraded to approved standards so that water will not be wasted and consumers receive safe water, free of contaminants.

The State and the federal government both make funding available to water districts for improving water systems to ensure they will last into the future.

When a water district needs to make major repairs or expand its infrastructure, state and federal governments can step in to help make it possible by providing financing. The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) both have programs to assist small water agencies with grants and loans.

But, in exchange, the government requires that certain guarantees be put in place to ensure that a local water agency will be able to continue financially.

The government will require:

a) that the water agency is charging enough for water to be able to pay for the improvements, repairs or expansion (SWRCB and USDA) and;

b) that the public is fully informed about any rate increase needed to cover the costs of the improvements or repairs (Proposition 218).

Proposition 218

When a local water agency needs to increase rates, California law, established under Proposition 218, requires strict adherence to a procedure to ensure that the public has been informed of its opportunities to say “no” to a rate increase. See LCWD’s public notice on page 12 for details about how to lodge a protest.

The law allows water agencies to move forward with a rate increase unless a majority of properties subject to the increase files objections.

Both Lebec and Frazier Park districts have completed rate increases in the last 15 years.

Each time, both agencies faced boisterous objections from some of their water consumers—FPPUD several times, the last in 2019, and LCWD in 2011 and 2016.

Each time, both agencies were able to move forward with their rate increases, based on the low numbers of protests lodged by water consumers in their districts.

In 2011, about 45 people attended a rally to oppose a proposed Lebec County Water District rate increase, which was nevertheless implemented.

Lebec County Water District can be reached at 661.248.6872.

This is part of the January 28, 2022 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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