CAMPAIGN 2018: Measure J – Public vs Private Water

“Cal Am is the best suited to make this happen,” said “No on J” campaign Manager Paul Higgins.

Higging is talking about finding a new water supply after being told to stop pumping from the Carmel River. But water costs are sky high, and citizen activist group “Public Water Now” says they’ve had enough.

“My water bill was reaching 600 a month in the summers,” said PWN communications director Melodie Chrislock.

Number from the watchdog group “Food and Water Watch” show Cal Am Monterey customers pay the highest water bills in the country – an average of 12,000 dollars in 2017, after a 68 percent increase since 2015.

So they worked to get Measure J on the ballot, a study determining if a government takeover of the local Cal Am system is possible.

What does this measure actually do?

Public Water Now says it simply demands the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District determine whether a takeover is feasible.

“If financial feasible and in the public interest. Not just buy at any cost,” Chrislock said.

Opponents of Measure J say that’s not true.

“(The) Impartial analysis that’s been done by Monterey County elections explicitly states that this isn’t
takeover, but it is empowering the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District to move forward with eminent domain and purchase Cal Am,” Higgins said.

The district, a neutral party, says that’s how they see it too.

“Currently the interpretation is ‘if and when feasible.’ So if it proves to be feasible, then proceed,” said Monterey Peninsula Water Management District General Manager Dave Stoldt.

Cal Am used a consulting firm to appraise the value of their assets, rights, and future projects, including the new pipeline and proposed Marina desal plant. The figure ended up being more than one billion dollars. Cal says a buyout would cost customers 18,000 dollars a year on their water bill.

“In this day age of rising housing costs and cost of living going up, that’s just money people shouldn’t have to put out,” Higgins said.

But Public Water Now argues the final costs would be a lost less, saying Felton’s take over of the Cal Am water system about a decade ago cost their district about a quarter of what Cal Am demanded.

“(They want to) Scare the public into thinking there is no way we can afford it. But that whole figure is bogus,” Chrislock said.

Chrislock says costs would be covered by using money not being spent on Cal Am corporate profits and salaries.

“Can you take out the investor owned utility’s share holder rate of return and and replace it
with public utility’s debt, and be indifferent?” Stolt added “we don’t know that and you just asked the what is feasible question.”

And that’s the thing, it is just about election day and we still don’t know the big question – what does feasible even mean?

“Some folks may say ‘I don’t care if rates go up, I just don’t want them to go up as fast.’ Or
someone may say, ‘I don’t care if there are no savings for 30 years, it’s that
31st year I think is feasible’,” Stoldt said.

He said if the measure passes there would be a public discussion about what they think feasible is.