The Sept. 9 meeting of the Pine Cove Water District was canceled because of lack of a quorum to conduct business. Board President Robert Hewitt and directors Lou Padula and Joel Palmer were absent.
An item on the agenda was a resolution opposing any statewide charge or tax on local water district bills. The Association of California Water Agencies expressed concern that the Legislature would try to enact this type of tax before the current legislative session ended.
“ACWA anticipates the proposal could be billed as a ‘drought response’ measure that would generate funding to assist disadvantaged communities that lack safe drinking water and/or have been severely impacted by the ongoing drought,” the agency wrote in an Aug. 19 alert to statewide water agencies. “While ACWA agrees that some disadvantaged communities need assistance to address their water supply challenges, we do not believe a public goods charge imposed on water bills is the appropriate mechanism to fund solutions.”
The alert added, “… by redistributing local ratepayer dollars to areas that have been unable to fund water system investments, agencies that already have made significant investments in water efficiency and local water supply needs would be unfairly penalized.”
PCWD General Manager Jerry Holldber was unsure if the resolution would be on the October agenda. If the Legislature adjourns without any action on this type of measure, the resolution may not be necessary, at least this fall.
The board also was planning to resume its discussion on whether to require a LiveScan for directors.
District customers used 3.4 million gallons of water in August, which was more than July, when several inches of rain fell. However, it was 8 percent less than the 3.7 million gallons consumed in July 2014.
During the first eight months of 2015, total production has been 21.6 million gallons, about one million gallons (or 5 percent) less than the same period in 2014.
