State grant to help Big Basin Company customers get safe access to clean drinking water

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV)- On Tuesday, Santa Cruz County is getting state money to help bring safe drinking water to people who live in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

County officials said they are receiving an $850,000 grant to help increase access to safe drinking water for customers who are served by Big Basin Water Company.

In a statement, Santa Cruz County Supervisor Bruce McPherson said that the funding is a step in the right direction but emphases more change needs to come.

"We still have a long way to go as we work together for permanent and positive change," McPherson said.

County officials said that the grant was sought in response to urgent drinking water supply and reliability situation faced by the customers.

A court-appointed receiver, Serviam by Wright LLP now owns the privately owned utility company.

Nicolas Jaber who is an attorney for the Serviam by Wright said that grant will help retrofit the water system.

"The grant also funds overdue retrofits for failing infrastructure and key engineering and investigative efforts, which will provide the foundation for a transition of ownership and control to a responsible entity," Jaber said.

Santa Cruz County sought the receivership and was obtained due by the State Water Resources Control Board and the State Attorney General's office due to water outages and substandard infrastructure.

County officials said the funding may be used to address system deficiencies including drinking water shortages plus system upgrades.