ROUGH WATERS 

No one is infallible! Past and current Yuba City council and its’ staff are no exception. They do not have all the answers! One only needs to read the newspaper to see some of these mistakes. No one really knows how many their misjudgments do not get into print!

We depend on newspapers and other publications to help us keep us informed. This is not always sufficient and there are times we must demand more accountability from our elected officials. Whether we like it or not, government decisions are not always made in our best interest.

The City’s ship is navigated by the most influential captain currently at its’ helm. At times the dense fog of special interest groups and other political elements runs our ship aground. Then our ship’s captain calls for the tugboat of citizens to bail them out through taxes, fees and assessments. Citizens seldom get a chance to steer that ship and get it back on course – except through protests and votes for a new captain and crew.

All that being said, lets look at some of what has transpired with the Hillcrest water system since 2001.

The Hillcrest water system is one example of how a basic need of providing an adequate safe water supply for it’s citizen can be distorted. This is especially true when national, state, and local political overtones are involved. Special interest groups also help to distort the decision making process.

All that being said, lets look at some of what has transpired with the Hillcrest Water Company (HWC).

In 2001 the City purchased the HWC to provide for development within the City’s Sphere of Influence (SOI). The HWC should have become a part of the City’s water system. This purchase was financed by a City bond which obligated the entire City not just the Walton area. Hillcrest water system belongs to the City! However, right now the cost is passed on in the water bills of the well water users (South Area).

What did the City do with HWC after they purchased it? Did they know that there was an arsenic problem with the water? Yes they did! Did they take any action to correct this problem? Yes, after five years of providing water to Walton residents that may be injurious to your health they initiated a temporary fix to bring it into mandated 2006 EPA standards.

If the City was so concerned about your health, why wasn’t the water arsenic problem dealt with immediately upon purchase? Why wasn’t a permanent solution found for the arsenic problem? One can only guess that they intended to use the well system as a temporary fix to encourage development of the SOI. It appears that they fully intended to abandon the well system once it has served its purpose.

But, how could they abandon the Hillcrest Water System without leaving Walton residents high and dry – oops, no pun intended. They must have contemplated the following. Gosh, we will have to connect them to surface water! Oh, that will cost the City a lot of money!  What about our promises to Walton citizens?  How are we going to finance this? The main political question must have been whether to upset 20% of the residents or 80% of the residents?  I don’t think we have to find a rocket scientist to help us to understand their final decision!

Guess what folks; charging the Walton area residents several million dollars is their solution to bad judgment of making the HWC purchase. The City should have left it in the hands of private enterprise as regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission. One can only speculate how many political influences were involved to have the city make the decision to acquire this well water system.

The City is making its decisions using outdated city water plans. The City is out of tune with California State water planning. The City is out of tune with water crisis in California. The city is out of tune with Walton community needs. The only way that we can get the City back on key is through your protests and votes.

The real Walton issue is not providing safe water – everyone wants that! The real issue is being fair and equitable to its citizens. This doesn’t only apply to the Walton water problem, but to other City upcoming decisions. Yuba City residents must separate political needs and the needs of special interest groups from their basic needs!

Walton residents – take back the helm of the ship by voting NO to any water assessment or surcharge fee that is more than what the majority of other city residents pay!  That is 4.5 percent a year increase.