A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
September 29, 2008
2. Supply –
Veto puts tenants at risk of water shut-off
San Francisco Chronicle
SSJID sells surplus water for $224,000
Conservation allows district to help two neighbors
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Veto puts tenants at risk of water shut-off
San Francisco Chronicle – 9/27/08
By Charles Burress, staff writer
(09-26) 17:01 PDT OAKLAND -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's veto of a bill that would have allowed the East Bay's largest water utility to use property liens to collect unpaid bills at foreclosed apartment buildings could leave tenants in such properties facing the loss of their water service.
The veto Thursday of AB1333, sponsored by Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, means the East Bay Municipal Utility District's temporary ban on water shut-offs in foreclosed apartments where bills haven't been paid will expire Tuesday.
EBMUD was losing money by providing water to such buildings, but it didn't want to shut off water to tenants who were not at fault. The district asked Hancock to sponsor legislation that would have allowed the utility to collect the unpaid funds through liens placed on the property tax bills or on proceeds from the buildings' sale.
Current state law bans municipal utility districts from using liens but allows municipally owned utilities, such as
Schwarzenegger said he vetoed the bill because it could have "an adverse economic impact on
EBMUD board member Andy Katz said he was "extremely disappointed" by the governor's decision. He said tenants in foreclosed buildings will now have to find other ways to keep the water on if landlords aren't paying the bills.
"With the governor's veto, any option will require a tenant to take some action to continue water service," Katz said Friday.
Those options include arranging to have a tenant take over responsibility for paying the bill and to deduct the amount from the rent, Katz said. Another might be for tenants to appeal to local government to enforce building codes that require landlords to maintain water service, he said.
He said he is investigating whether the district could seek to collect the bills in small-claims court.
Katz sponsored the district's temporary moratorium on water shut-offs in foreclosed apartment buildings. The EBMUD board first approved the ban in March and extended it in July until Sept. 30, with the understanding that the moratorium would end if Hancock's bill didn't pass.
EBMUD's board acted after advocates for tenants and some
The district has identified 127 apartment buildings in foreclosure with unpaid bills totaling about $87,500 as of Sept. 15, said Rebecca Lamoreaux, EBMUD manager of customer and community relations. She said 119 of those buildings have two to four units each.
Lamoreaux said the water will not be turned off immediately after the shut-off ban expires Tuesday. The district will send another notice to customers and post two notices for the tenants, 15 days apart, at the buildings.
EBMUD will also try to persuade lenders to assume responsibility for the bills and continue to allow tenants to take over bills if they wish.
"If we can find no one to take responsibility for the bill and we are unable to collect from the customer of record, usually the landlord or owner, then ultimately, probably around the first of November, we'd be turning those accounts off," she said.
Help for tenants
EBMUD board member Andy Katz suggests that tenants seeking information about their rights, including deducting their water-bill payments from their rent, contact the tenant-advocate group Just Cause Oakland at (510) 763-5877; the East Bay Community Law Center at (510) 548-4040; the city of Oakland's Rent Adjustment Program at (510) 238-3721; or the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board at (510) 981-7368.#
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/27/BAVG136737.DTL
SSJID sells surplus water for $224,000
Conservation allows district to help two neighbors
Dennis Wyatt
Managing Editor
South San Joaquin Irrigation District has helped two neighbors out and received $224,000 for their efforts.
The district had 4,800 acre feet of water left from its Bureau of Reclamation allocation after filling Woodward Reservoir so they could have another irrigation run prior to Oct. 15 as well as take care of municipal water needs through next spring and handle of early 2009 irrigation runs for SSJID farmers.
SSJID General Manager Jeff Shields said the board had numerous offers to buy the water from up and down the state but opted to keep it within
The Central Irrigation District north of French Camp took 1,600 acre-feet for agricultural uses at $20 per acre foot. The Stockton East Water District bought 1,600 acre feet at $20 per acre foot for agriculture and another 1,600 acre feet for urban uses in
The Central Irrigation District was literally out of water while Stockton East is running dangerously low in terms of its surface supplies.
The district can't carry over storage for its adjucated water rights on the
Both the SSJID and OID get their water from the
The district can assure full deliveries of water for the start of the irrigation season next year. They were trying to get a contract with the Bureau to pay them to hold some of the water they sold but the federal government was unable to do it.
"We're keeping our fingers crossed for next year like everyone else," Shields said of the prospect of the drought heading into a third year.
The SSJID has made almost $2 million this year on sales of water to help other districts in
http://www.mantecabulletin.com/main.asp?SectionID=28&SubSectionID=58&ArticleID=59555
Dropping groundwater levels worry Durham
By HEATHER HACKING - Staff Writer
A meeting was held Tuesday night to talk about the county's groundwater program and to hear from residents, many who rely on wells for their residential and irrigation water. Leaders of the Butte County Department of Water and Resource Conservation met with about 35 residents in the
For three years, the county has been building upon a groundwater monitoring program that sets up a way for reporting if groundwater use in one area effects wells nearby. That system of monitoring wells is still growing, and it is hoped it will help avoid drought-related problems in the future.
Locally, people are experiencing drops in their well levels. Water levels at
Water managers know there are some areas where water levels have been noted, but would like to hear from more residents. But more input from citizens will give county water leaders a better picture of what's going on in the fields and backyards of local residents.
A form to report lower groundwater levels has been posted at www.buttecounty.net/waterandresource/drought_info.htm. The phone number is 538-4343.
People who are seeing their well water levels drop are encouraged to make a report.
So far, according to Kristen McKillop, manager of program development for the Butte County Department of Water and Resource Conservation, only four reports have been filed.
If more information is gathered, water officials could look at whether there are clusters of wells that are dropping.
One man in the audience Tuesday night said he has friends who work on groundwater pumps, and he has heard there are more problems than the county has heard about.
This will be one way that
Barbara Vlamis, director of the Butte Environmental Council, said the county could be doing more. With the four-county agreement there "is no enforcement mechanism. It's all good will," Vlamis said.
Others in the audience voiced concern about what could happen to farmers in the area if water gets more and more scarce.
Farmer and former county supervisor Ed McLaughlin had some pointed comments.
"We know DWR (Department of Water Resources) isn't our friend.
"They short-changed
"We don't have to get in a fight but we can buy boxing gloves," McLaughlin said.#
http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_10580952
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