From the NCT: Under the proposed increases, the average residential customer in the district could see his or her bill go up by 13.5 percent. An average residential water user now pays $99.30 a month, and that would increase to $112.71, or an extra $13.41 a month, according to district figures.
The San Dieguito district covers the western portions of town ---- Leucadia, Old Encinitas, Cardiff and parts of New Encinitas. Olivenhain Municipal Water District serves eastern parts of town.
The Encinitas Taxpayers Association attempted a last minute rate protest but the volunteer efforts to walk neighborhoods with flyers was hindered by a rainy winter. 1000 protest flyers were returned.
The self proclaimed Republican fiscal conservative city council majority voted in the rate increase.
By the way, there is a free screening of the movie Tapped tonight at the La Paloma theatre at 7 pm. It's about the privatization of water and the effects of our addiction to plastic bottled water.
Question: What is the ceiling that homeowners will pay for water until they tear out their tropical plant gardens and lawns and start xeriscaping?
Thanks for posting this Kevin. I really believe more than ever that the City Council should not be stewards of the SDWD.Or if they really want to be, there should be an independent citizen on the committee. I would be interested in the rates Olevenhein Water District customers pay vs. SDWD. Think I will call them and ask. Will report back.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the rate where vegetable gardeners cannot grow their own food anymore?
ReplyDeleteAlso recommend the documentary 'Flow' to get wise to the big business of water. It almost makes oil look tame.
ReplyDeleteCarlsbad desal plant. Private profits. The public underwrites their debt. The government makes people buy their water.
ReplyDeleteProfits bad????
ReplyDeletePrivate industry bad????
You must love Obama!!!!
"The government makes people buy their water"
ReplyDeleteYour gonna love the heath insurance plan that the government will make people buy.
How many more times will they raise water rates and then allow more homes around golf courses to be built. If we live in a desert, how many water meters can a desert support?
ReplyDeleteWe don't want or need more homes built. Its simple, we want less home and people. Its better for the envirnment.
Someone has to pay for their 90% pensions for life. Where else will the millions come from?
ReplyDeleteWe live in a desert with sea water that can / must be converted to potable water.
ReplyDeleteProfits, good!
ReplyDeleteGovernment bailout guarantees for private water companies, bad!
Private industry, good!
Private-public partnerships, bad!
Monopolies, bad!
Consumer choice, good!
Poseidon, bad!
OK kids, first things first. Teresa Barth recommended the water rate increase because it was the right thing to do for all the right reasons. Then at the meeting she flipped and suggested a rate increase of a lesser amount, for no good reason other than she seemed cowed by the 10 angry speakers. That's not good leadership, and frankly it's not even good followership! It's just weak.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, Houlihan spoke so convicingly that the adopted rate increase was the responsible and necessary thing to do that Stocks, who had stated his opposition to the increase actually changed his mind!
It's all on the web, and I highly recommend it as good theater.
The pathetic Barth should resign the Council and go back to the activist audiance where she belongs!
You write...
ReplyDelete"The self proclaimed Republican fiscal conservative city council majority voted in the rate increase"...
Hey dummy, check the registration of the Council members. It's a majority DEMOCRAT registration!!
Does that change your rhetoric? Not likely!!!
Sorry Kid!
ReplyDeleteBarth realized she needed to listen to logic. The rest of Council are bought off by unions.
Vote out all incumbents.
Danny Dalager is the worst for Encinitas.
Danny Dalager continues to sink Encinitas. Vote that clown out
Council that hates Citizens interests needs to go.
Stocks has always been bought off by the unions. That clown should be run out of the republican party. He is like the cronies he has supported Mike Dick Head and Gary Tucker. Some time soon voters will wake up and see the ass holes that are selling their kids and grandkids out! Pathetic!
ReplyDeleteThe average water bill is nearly $100 per household? When we bought our home in New Encinitas (Olivenhain Municipal Water District) in late 1996 our water bill averaged about $75 and that included irrigation for a lot of boring lawn and shrubbery on our .39 acre lot (at that time we only were a 2 person household). I don't have the actual water units handy. We became a 3 person household with the birth of our child in late 98, that was more than offset by the changes we made changes to the landscaping that include removing the very invasive eucalyptus trees, as well as thirsty shrubs and grass lawn. We replaced them with fruit trees and other edibles (amounts vary from year to year), less thirsty plants in general (and more interesting, IMO), as well as converting from sprinklers only to primarily drip irrigation. We plan to continue installing more edibles into our landscape which may bump our water usage up a bit unless we find ways to conserve more (we no longer maintain a veggie garden as we now belong to a local CSA veggie box subscription program which is much less work than our fruit trees ;-)).
ReplyDeleteWe also made changes within the house including the 3 dual flush (.8/1.6 gal) toilets, 2 low flow shower heads, and an ultra water-saving dishwasher, plus a moderate amount of water-use awareness (could be better at that, though).
Even though our new dishwasher has a smaller load capacity and our reliance on it has increased so it needs to be run about 30-50% more often, and with our 11 yo son and friends creating dams and rivers in their play area in the back yard ( and forgetting to turn off the hose all the way sometimes) - our water bill rarely is over $35 a month anymore, and usually doesn't go into the second tier of water rates, or just barely does. Our bill has continued to drop even as rates and infrastructure access/sewer charges have risen dramatically. Basically we pay more for the access & sewer than the actual water we use. It boggles my mind that people continue use so much water when fairly simple and cost-effective changes in landscaping and appliances can result in drastic reductions both in cost and water amounts without resorting to bathing from a teacup of water or other drastic habit changes.
Good point Anna. Not all those who use water are wasting water and when we use water wisely we should not have to pay more just to subsidize city operations. Our water bill should go for the cost providing precious limited water.
ReplyDeleteand our pensions!
ReplyDeleteBond-REPUBLICAN
ReplyDeleteDalager-REPUBLICAN
STOCKS-REPUBLICAN
You write:
ReplyDelete"Hey dummy, check the registration of the Council members. It's a majority DEMOCRAT registration!!
Does that change your rhetoric? Not likely!!!"
I don't see how you can say that. I know Barth is registered as an independent. Stocks is a Republican, as he participates on the SD Rostra blog. Surely Dalablabber is too, or at least of very strong Republican sympathies. I'll put Houlihan on the Democratic side. That leaves Bond. Republican? He sure sounds like one. Hardly a Democratic majority.
We do know that the three men mostly vote together, with Houlihan recently joining them. Her reasons for voting for the rate increase were taken straight from the staff recommendations. Nothing original. At least part of that increase will fill gaps in the budget unrelated to water district expenses.
I saw Maggie at the La Paloma last night. She is eager to ban plastic water bottles. I don't disagree with this, but has Maggie traded her vote to get the boys to vote with her to ban the bottles?
I really hope they can also ban hamburgers, showers, bad haircuts, gum, fun boards, leashes, light bulbs, beer, over eating, jumprope, under eating. And then have home inspections to make sure that we are conforming to their arrogant ideal of how to live as free Americans. This would be funny if it wasn't adults who were in charge of $10s of millions of taxpayer funds.
ReplyDeleteThe City Council needs to pave the roads, stop the flooding, pay the safety workers, empty the trash and go home. I do not want them wasting time and $millions$ and interfering with my choices as a taxpayer and consumer.
BTW how will this brilliant ban work? Will it be small water bottles, big ones, blue ones, reusable ones, kiddy cups, water vessels in general? And if all of the above why not go after milk bottles, baby bottles, gatorade, orange juice, Pepsi, and .....................
Charlie
PS I personally do not prefer plastic bottles, white wine (especially on plastic) but if you do than have at it.
1.) No mention by the City Council, paid consultants, or Staff of any proposed moratorium on the issuing of new water meters - one of the more logical steps in a severe drought (what drought?). This is not a surprise, seeing that the Council has frequently been on the wrong (and losing) side of several efforts to amend the General Plan in accommodating high density projects (what drought?). Since the City Council is also the SD Water Board, it lack critical independence and is sway to the influence and fortunes of developers, lenders, large ag land holders and related businesses. Not good. Who's watching the the community store?
ReplyDelete2.) Hunkering down financially, many residential users have already drastically cut water usages. Consequently, the consultants projection that this rate hike represents "only" a 13% increase is a fairytale. The increase looks increasingly like 20%, and if another cut is mandated, 30%. Naturally, there wasn't even a pep about our looming shortage during the housing boom. Chalk up another strike for water board independence.
3.) While everyone is fighting job losses, pay cuts, portfolio evaporation and asset deflation, the good folks in the SDWD is hiring - at full salary. No thought here about freezes, cutbacks, tech productivity gains, or salary adjustments here. And why not, just vote a dumb rate increase. More and more our state / local officials are looking like hapless ducks out of water. No small wonder that California, with the 6th largest economy in the world, is teetering on bankruptcy.
4.) Lastly, the new rate preserves a mandated 25% revenue pad in order to sustain our bond ratings and help with reserve requirements. Why should bondholders, rating agencies, or well endowed water company suitors be forced to adjust to the public's economic hardships?
This is ludicrous, and another reason private equity is devouring public water companies - 25% margins, during a near depression, on a manipulable resource, no one can live without. God, I love America!
"Profits bad??? Private industry bad??? You must love Obama!!!"
"No...but I can read a map!"
- Omar Bradley
"Let 'em eat cake."
- Marie Antoinette
Bond-REPUBLICAN
ReplyDeleteDalager-REPUBLICAN
STOCKS-REPUBLICAN
Not. RINO
All are RINO jackasses.
True republicans like Ron Paul are embarrassed by jackass like these fools.
A new party is needed.
Never vote for an incumbent or a Republicrat.
Our so called republicans are Republicrats. Vote them out along with Maggie. She is past her prime and its time for her to step down.
Ron Paul is a Libertarian. We have a new party. He had to run on the republican ticket for legal reasons.
ReplyDelete