Public Water Now defends buyout feasibility with out-of-state examples

A group that has been pushing for the public buyout of California American Water utilities on the Monterey Peninsula is bringing in a city official that was able to do it successfully in Montana.

The costs for ratepayers on the Monterey Peninsula have gone up 68 percent in the last couple of years. According to Food and Water Watch, the peninsula is the most expensive place to buy water in the country.

“Our rates at our house in Monterey have increased three-fold,” said Jeana Jett, a Monterey resident. “I feel like I have no control. And I feel like a corporation such as Cal Am or any corporation is there to satisfy its clientele and its shareholders.”

Public Water Now – the group long opposed to the private utility company Cal Am – held a town hall with the mayor of Missoula, Montana, on Monday.

That city bought out their privately-held water system in 2017 using eminent domain, something that could be used on the Monterey Peninsula.

The difference between public and private ownership lies partly in the way rate is used.

“We operate on a cost basis. Every dollar that goes into the system goes to maintain that system, grow that system, pay employees and operate the system,” said John Engen, the mayor of Missoula.

“You’re either going to do cost or cost plus profit. Which makes more sense when it comes to water? So the argument for public ownership is always local control and lower cost,” said Melodie Chrislock, the communications director for Public Water Now.

PWN says public ownership does not guarantee lower rates, but it does mean residents can have a say on what the rates should be.

In November, voters will get a chance to vote on Measure J, which if passed would call for a feasibility study to see how much it would cost to buyout Cal Am utilities. If the buyout is found to be financially feasible and in the public interest, a buyout would happen.

The No on J campaign and Cal Am officials were also out at the town hall on Monday, passing out flyers trying to contradict the claims of the Yes on J campaign and PWN.

“I wish that all the voters of Monterey County could have been here tonight to hear the mayor of Missoula, Montana, guarantee people that their rates would go up as a result of the takeover,” said Kevin Tilden, a spokesperson for Cal Am who was present at the town hall.