SPRING VALLEY -A water hookup moratorium is back in effect in Spring Valley after the Lake County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an urgency ordinance reinstating it in a Tuesday afternoon meeting held at the Spring Valley Community Center.
The decision came after two hours and 45 minutes of heated discussion. More than 50 Spring Valley residents attended the meeting. Lake County Special Districts manages the area”s water system. Much of the board”s time was spent listening to reports from the area”s water advisory committee, but citizens also expressed distrust for the county”s Special Districts management.
“Regarding the urgency ordinance, there will be significant consequences if we do not act today. If we do not take action, CDPH (California Department of Public Health) will take their own,” District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing said. The area is in her district.
Special Districts Director Mark Dellinger said the moratorium on new water hookups is still needed until the system”s capacity shortage is corrected. Residents questioned the data used by Foresight Engineering for a study of the system”s capacity that recommended rate hikes.
“People want to know how much their bills are going to be, how often they”re going to have to pay them and where the money is going,” Spring Valley resident Florence Kinder said.
The study recommended rate hikes during the next five years that would bring residents” water bills to nearly $200 per billing cycle. Attendees were divided regarding whether the moratorium should be in place.
“Legitimate issues were brought up here about the Foresight model. The structure works, but the inputs should all be looked at,” Rushing said.
Spring Valley was under a one-year moratorium the board adopted in September 2006, and extended for another year in 2007. It expired in September, according to Dellinger. The last moratorium in Spring Valley was lifted after 10 years in 2002. Dellinger told the board in a Sept. 16 meeting that the water system needed approximately $3.7 million of improvements to increase its capacity.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com
