Water rationing and much higer rates for So Cal. (San Diego: health insurance, how much)

[jimhcom]

I recently received a notice from my Water District that they are holding hearings to cut our base water allowance by 2/3 and raising costs for upper tier rates to ridiculous levels. This will be happening all over So Cal. Be sure to write your water District and protest both the cuts in allotment and price increases. These crooks have been given more than what they needed to secure California's water supply but instead of spending it on infrastructure they spent it on their own salaries, pensions, and life long health insurance. This is another scam. There is no such thing as a water shortage, water is the most abundant substance on the planet, and these guy act like it is something scarce. California Law says that they cannot adopt a new price structure if the "majority" of customers protest in writing. Here is a sample of my protest.

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is to protest the proposed rate increase being proposed by Municipal Water District. The rates and the proposed allocations are unbelievably unfair to the customers of San Diego.
To begin with the shortage of water is Southern California has nothing to do with drought. It has everything to do with gross mismanagement existing resources and lack of planning by the Water Authorities of Southern California.
If there is such a problem with water in Southern California why is there not a moratorium on new building?
Why were 200,000 new building permits a year approved in California between the years 2003 and 2006?
One million six hundred thousand new homes were permitted in the decade between 1997 and 2006. What was the plan to deal with this massive increase in water demand?
Why are existing homeowners now being held responsible for the lack of water due to the housing boom?
What was the income received by State and Local Water Authorities at a conservative cost estimate of $10,000 per meter?
How was that money used?
How much money has the State and Local Water Authorities received from Bond Measures over the past decade?
Why is the proposed baseline water allotment same on Tier 1 for properties with up to 2 acre lots as those with .01 acre lots? Have you taken into consideration the increased fire danger such a policy creates?
Why is there no consideration for multi family dwellings sharing the same meter?
Do you not realize we are already paying the highest rates in the country?
This is a poorly conceived proposal and unfair to the rate payers.
It is inconceivable that at a time when the State is experiencing the worst economic disaster since the great depression that this proposal would be even considered.
I protest the implementation of the new rates, and to the management of the Water Authorities. We do not need higher rates; we need to replace the incompetent management of our water resources.


I for one am tired of the criminals in Wall St, The Banks, the Local, State, and Federal Governments taking turns at my backside. It is time to stand up. There should be a bounty on these scumbags.

[Oerdin]

We're now in our fifth year of drought with snow packs in the Sierra's about half of normal and California is under court order to reduce it's use of water from the Colorado river. Is it any wonder that during a water shortage authorities are trying to reduce consumption by raising prices?

What we really need are more local sources of water since we haven't built any new reservoirs since the 1960's but our population has tripled then. Hell, the city and county spent millions creating a parallel "gray water" delivery system for agriculture, industrial, and landscaping use but very few people have bothered to hook up to it. Maybe the new higher prices will finally encourage people to bite the bullet and hook themselves up to the gray water lines for their landscaping. Alternatively we could build an ocean water desalination plant but if you think the current prices are expensive just wait until you see the bill for desalinated water.

[Oerdin]

Oh, and writing a protest letter to the various regional water boards (much less the City's water utility agency) complaining about rampant over development won't do you much good since the City's water utility agency doesn't over see new building permits. That's controlled by the various different city and county authorities across Southern California. All those various city and county officials want more people because that means more property tax revenue but most of them hate long term planning because that's expensive and they would have to admit we need big new engineering projects (new reservoirs, new aqueducts, etc). It's not like a politician would get elected by admitting their policies mean we'll have to raise taxes because more people means increased demand for water plus voters are loath to face up to hard truths. That's why knuckleheads like Jerry Sanders keep getting elected promising to do everything under the sun and never raise taxes even as the city falls ever further behind on its pension liabilities.

The hard truth is we're going to have to raise taxes and fees to pay for our needs and we can either plan ahead and pay a little more now or wait for a crisis in which case we will suddenly be faced with a much larger bill. I'm sure we'll wait for a crisis because the "I'll never pay any taxes" morons will have it no other way.

[Oerdin]

Then of course there is another issue in that a lot of the population isn't from here and probably doesn't plan on staying here long term so they don't care if there is a problem 5-10 years down the road just as long as they get to keep paying a low tax rate/low user fees for the things they want right now. We have a lot of military people who will only be here a few years before getting restationed some where else, college students who will only be here until they graduate, and a good number of people from other states who moved here to advance their careers but who later intend to move back home once they've gotten the experience they're interested in or saved the money they need to buy a place back home. Few of those people are interested in paying for the region's long term planning needs because they're not planning on staying here long term. It's a shame too because such short sightedness only drives costs up as we delay facing up to the clear long term realities.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by Oerdin

Oh, and writing a protest letter to the various regional water boards (much less the City's water utility agency) complaining about rampant over development won't do you much good since the City's water utility agency doesn't over see new building permits. That's controlled by the various different city and county authorities across Southern California. All those various city and county officials want more people because that means more property tax revenue but most of them hate long term planning because that's expensive and they would have to admit we need big new engineering projects (new reservoirs, new aqueducts, etc). It's not like a politician would get elected by admitting their policies mean we'll have to raise taxes because more people means increased demand for water plus voters are loath to face up to hard truths. That's why knuckleheads like Jerry Sanders keep getting elected promising to do everything under the sun and never raise taxes even as the city falls ever further behind on its pension liabilities.

The hard truth is we're going to have to raise taxes and fees to pay for our needs and we can either plan ahead and pay a little more now or wait for a crisis in which case we will suddenly be faced with a much larger bill. I'm sure we'll wait for a crisis because the "I'll never pay any taxes" morons will have it no other way.

I'd gladly pay more in tax if the City or State could guarantee it to go to the actaul project

[Oerdin]

Weren't you whining about even the idea of paying for the trash pick up you use every week? Talk about wanting something for nothing.

[jimhcom]

Originally Posted by Oerdin

Weren't you whining about even the idea of paying for the trash pick up you use every week? Talk about wanting something for nothing.

I have no idea what you are talking about here, but your previous posts make it seem as if you are an employee of the Water Depatartment and very happy with the status quo. Creating shortages is the oldest trick in the book. In this case all you have to do is fail to update the infrastructure and over a period of years and, walah a water shortage. Water is the most plentiful resource on the planet, there is no shortage of it. What there is a shortage of is honest and credible leadership at all levels in Government and Public Services. If you do not believe standing up to public officials and holding their feet to the fire will do "any good" then you do not believe in the democratic form of government. This country has gotten into the trouble it is in now from people like you advocating that it is OK to shirk your civic responsibilities and not be involved with government. Watch some more mind numbing TV and just allow the people in charge to run things and everything will be alright. Those days are gone. Either stand up or shut up.

[theh]

Originally Posted by jimhcom

Creating shortages is the oldest trick in the book. In this case all you have to do is fail to update the infrastructure and over a period of years and, walah a water shortage. Water is the most plentiful resource on the planet, there is no shortage of it.

Are you interested in drinking salt water? If that's the case, then yes, water is very plentiful.