“Water Fees”
February 2002
Viewpoint
by Dave Romero, Former Council Member
To the Editor:
On April 16, 2002 the San Luis Obispo City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing to consider raising the water impact fee for a new house from its current $7905/house to $11,265/house. The new fee will by far be the highest in the county (Pismo Beach at $6022/house is next) and by far the highest in comparable cities within the state (Ventura at $3743/house is next).
The fee is calculated on the cost of developing new water sources and follows previous City Council direction:
a) Staff is not to consider State Water on any basis.
b) Estimates are based on the Nacimiento Project, with costs projected at $1550/acft. (The political realities are that the project is unlikely to go ahead for many years.)
c) Include a 2000 ac ft “Reliability Reserve” to be set aside each year in case of miscalculation or failed source of supply. (Cost will be $3.1 million each year, though the reserve may never be used.)
At the March 12, 2002 meeting I requested that the City Council direct staff to investigate ways of REDUCING water fees rather than INCREASING them. My recommendations:
a) Allow staff to consider a connection to the State Water pipeline at the edge of the city, and investigate to see if a favorable arrangement could be worked out on one of the many alternatives that are still available. (The 1992 cost estimate for SLO was $800/acft for treated water. The State Water Project now has a 40- year record of reliability for urban users. Approximately 15,000 acft are still available to SLO County. The existing delivery pipeline is now operating at approximately ½ capacity.)
b) Work out problems with the Dalidio family to allow annexation and development so the city can tap into the groundwater under the Dalidio Ranch freed up due to reduced agriculture operations. (A 1700 acft yield from this source is estimated to cost around $500/acft for treatment and pumping.
c) Eliminate the $3 million annual cost for the Reliability Reserve by joint use of the Morro Bay Desal Plant and/or a connection to the State Pipeline.
If all of these recommendations were put into place, we could REDUCE fees and greatly increase reliability of our water supply. We would have 5 separate sources of supply thus reducing risk to an absolute minimum.
The fee increases for additional water are not just for newcomers. WE ALL PAY. Current water users pay the major cost of developing new supplies ($2.5 million just for the reliability reserve). Under the proposal being considered by the Council, within the next few years, water rates (that’s us, folks) will increase 21.5% just for new supplies. That’s on top of rates that are already among the highest in the county.
We all love living in our wonderful city, but it is becoming more costly all the time. Our children and grandchildren can’t afford to buy a house in SLO. It is time when our city should look for ways to eliminate unnecessary increases. Common sense water master planning is a start.
If SLO residents are concerned about this next round of increases, they should contact council members and show up to testify at the April 16 meeting.
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