June 29th Update on Water

Update on 6/29/2017

I’m sure everyone is wondering what the status is on our water system:

On June 19^th, Calwater issued a letter of interest to Supervisor Frazier expressing their interest in taking over our water system.  They mentioned normally they wouldn’t be interested in a system of our size, however due to all the development in our area, they are willing to take on our system and the deal would be kept separate from any other acquisitions through Madera County.

·        The rates are projected to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 to $125 per month, depending on if you use a lot of water.

·         Their projection of an average household use for our area, based on lased year’s usage, was 21,000 cf per household.  Therefore on their proposed rate schedule (which is the same as Selma’s) the average monthly cost (based on last year’s use) would be approx. $102 per month. 

·         Of course some months higher some lower, that is the estimated average.  They said they could offer a balance payment plan, for those who prefer more consistent monthly payment.  In addition, they have a low-income program for discounted rates to those who qualify.  For example, if you qualify for the PG&E low income program, you should qualify for Calwater's.

·         In a meeting with Calwater, they plan to make an investment in our water system of up to 2 million, if needed, to replace the arsenic treatment facility and upgrade infrastructure to make our system reliable.  By reliable, I mean IN FULL COMPLIANCE, You can water your lawns, your property values will go up!  You can sell your home, honestly, if you so choose to.

·        Calwater's attorneys believe we should not have to pay off the bond debt to sell the system, contradictory to what the county council advises.  Therefore presently, the county council is reviewing the legal requirements and reviewing the citations of Calwater’s attorneys.

·         We will have a public meeting when this is figured out. Please keep in mind, even if we stayed with the county for water, they are pushing for a rate increase (similar, or more than the amount Calwater is projecting here), and I believe they would not contribute as much as Calwater is willing to; towards the capital improvements. (Nor correctly).

In addition, there is still hope that we might get a backup well connection from the Gunner property, they were testing it last week and the output is over 1000 gallons per minute.  Supervisor Frazier thinks the county might start working on making a connection to this well, to our system; soon.  They are waiting on test results now.  All that prep work we were seeing on lanes bridge and 10, might have been for us; so we need to be appreciative of that; and cross our fingers we can have access to this well; if the water quality tests come back accordingly.

Right now we are still in a wait mode.  I will let you know as soon as all is ready for community discussion.

Update on Calwater Evaluation

Here it is about 3 weeks after our big association meeting, where the members who were present unanimously voted to pursue a partnership with a large water company, with financial strength, such as Calwater.  I am sure many of you are very concerned and are wondering if any progress is being made about our water situation.  It can be uneasy sitting on the sidelines waiting for answers to such important questions.   Questions such as: what is happening in regards to our most precious resource; a resource which we all so desperately depend on?  You may be wondering is anything being done to fix this problem?  As I promised at the meeting, “I would be all over it,” and I would keep in frequent communications with Calwater and the County, on the behalf of our community.

The purpose of this post is an attempt to reassure you that the wheels are turning and there is a strong possibility that we can once again have our neighborhoods green, with beautiful green grass for our mature landscapes, and the healthy trees we would expect from our wonderful Rolling Hills.  For the first time, in a long time, I have hope we may find a possible solution to our water problems; in a relatively quick fashion.   In addition, we could have a company with resources, who knows what they are doing at the controls.  When I say relatively quick, I mean by next spring.

Lets face it, and I think we all came to this very realization at the last association meeting, we cannot take chances on our water system, and time is of the essence.  Some members at the association meeting expressed, “what good is it to try and save money, while our trees are dying and our landscapes look like deserts?” What is our community worth, and what are our houses are worth, if we cannot use the water we need for ourselves and our landscapes?

Since our association meeting, there have been three meetings between Calwater and the County.  Which I had the honor of sitting in on.  On Wednesday May 24, Tuesday May 30, and Monday June 5^th.  At the first meeting between Brett Frazier, Norman Allinder, and Bill Cambell, the county reassured us they are sincere about possibility releasing control of the water system.  Calwater would not usually consider taking over a system, as small as ours, by itself.  However they are seriously considering taking us on, because of the additional growth surrounding us, and a few projects they are looking at which are not too far away.   The county shared there may be other county systems available for transition to Calwater.  However, it was re-affirmed that Rolling Hills is of the highest priority and the county as well as all stakeholders understand; we want to keep our system agreement independent; not dependent on any other system acquisitions.

At the next meeting on May 30^th the Chief Executive Officers of Calwater came down, drove the neighborhood and then met with County folks at Mr Fraziers office.    CEO’s from Calwater asked questions to feel out the county’s intentions.  I was at the meeting, it felt as though the executives were satisfied with the answers and somewhat interested in taking on this project.  However they are concerned about the condition of our system, and the financial debt our system has.  This appeared to be an initial exploratory session; where the exec’s were evaluating the opportunity and future area opportunities.  They were taking this time to evaluate if this is and avenue they would consider pursuing.

At the most recent meeting, on Monday June 5^th, Calwater sent out its engineering team to meet with county public works staff; they traveled to each well site at Rolling Hills, and their engineers took pictures and asked questions to county staff about the operations of the system.  Now they will write up an analysis of our water system, and submit and evaluation to Calwater exec’s.  They will use this report to explore the needs of our rolling hills waters system; both current and future.  Then they will make a decision in regards to if they are willing to take on our water system or not?

As I mentioned, I will keep everyone informed of any new developments and I will stay on top of this situation; as I have developed some solid relationship with the decision makers involved.

Below is an example of the rates Average, High, and Low usage (prepared by Eric Olsen) Based on Calwater's proposed rate schedule.