Golden State Water Company (GSWC) has been courting the Sutter County Supervisors for years to win the right to serve proposed developments in South Sutter County. Every year around the holidays GSWC would purchase hundreds of turkeys to donate to residents and give the politicians the credit and the photo-op.
It is finally paying-off as supervisors gave away their Robbins community water system for $1,000 to GSWC. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), a corrupt government agency beholden to utilities, must approve the hand-over.
The Robbins system is in need of water purity improvements, has been costing the county money and serves less than 400 residents with 93 service connections. The county faces deadlines to come into compliance.
Yuba-Sutter Counties is generally served with municipal water services, monopolies run by government with rates influenced by voter input. The exception is Marysville served by California Water Service (CWS), a private water monopoly. The water costs in Marysville can be 3-times higher than the surrounding communities like Yuba City, Linda and Olivehurst who have municipal systems.
The expensive CWS service has caused most owners and tenants to forgo watering outside to save hundreds of dollars per month. Dead shrubs and brown grass stand-out when driving through the Marysville.
With no competition, private water companies are a cash cow for stockholders and employees. The CPUC approves rate increases while the utility takes care of the CPUC and its corrupt administrative judges.
Ojai, CA once had GSWC, but the water was very expensive and the system full of problems according to a July 18, 2018 Santa Barbara Independent article. A ballot measure in 2013 to pass a $60 million bond to buy-out GSWC and repair the leaky system succeeded with 87.5% of voters approving. The system was then turned over to a municipal water district to manage.
Water rates initially dropped 65%. The switch has saved the 2,950 customers a collective $3 million per year.
Court appeal documents state that GSWC charged more than double Ojai’s two municipal providers: Casitas and Ventura River Water District. For all the money it got, GSWC left a water system that was “decrepit, in very, very bad shape,” said Russ Baggerly, a member of the groundwater agency board and the Casitas water district.
On Nov. 4, 2014, Claremont, CA voters overwhelmingly backed a bond known as Measure W, allowing that city to borrow as much as $135 million to acquire their water system from GSWC via eminent domain. However, after years of court fights Claremont surrendered to stay with GSWC. The main complaint of residents was exorbitant rates.
In 2008, Felton, CA, (1400 residents) purchased their water system from California American Water after years of spiking rates and being poorly maintained. Today, their rates have increased along with the costs to pay back the bonds to buy-out Cal- AM. However, the projections to stay with the private utility were far higher and the increases at adjacent water systems have been much greater than Felton’s.
Food & Water Watch studied the effects of water-system privatization and has helped communities turn—or return—to public control. In a 2009 report that examined nearly 5,000 water utilities and 1,900 sewer utilities, the organization found that the private entities—which have an obligation to shareholders—charge up to 80 percent more for water and 100 percent more for sewer services. In Yuba-Sutter it is worse than what the survey revealed.
Sutter County engineer Guadalupe Rivera says Robbins residents will remain on a $70 flat rate for a 12-month grace period and then be metered. The average customer using 10,472 gallons will see their bill reduced by $11. That would compare with what Cal Water is charging Marysville residents before the additional four fees (Water Revenue Adjustment Mechanism (WRAM), CPUC Fee, Other Charges, and Public Purpose Programs). These fees add another $10-$20 to the bill. GSWC will now be eligible for state tax dollars as grants to repair the Robbins water system.
(Get Lou’s podcast at “No Hostages Radio” and his articles at nohostagesradio.com)
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