Mayor's Group decides to oppose the Public Water Initiative

The group of peninsula mayors charged with finding a solution to the water supply shortage -- officially known as the Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority (MPRWA)-- voted last week to oppose the public ownership initiative.

The group had received numerous requests from the public to take a stand on the issue, and were scheduled to consider commissioning a consulting firm to investigate whether it was in their purview to take a stand, what the effects would be, etc. But the mayors, to their great credit, said "the heck with that. We've been involved with the issue for years and know more about it than anybody, why pay a consulting firm to study it?" And with that, they took a stand. They're drafting a statement against Measure O (as the public water initiative will appear on the ballot). Who's heard of a bunch of politicians NOT commissioning a study -- hooray for them on that point, anyway.

 As much as I don't see why we the ratepayers should pay for a facility that Cal-Am will own, I do see where the mayors are coming from. They're concerned that Measure O will slow down whatever progress is being made on getting a desalination plant built. The deadline for finding an alternative water supply is December 31, 2016, and everyone knows that even if everything goes swimmingly from here on out, there's no way a plant can be built and operational by that date. All the key players are counting on the State Water Resources Control Board granting an extension on the order to reduce pumping from the Carmel River by 70% by the start of 2017. If we can show we're well on the way to getting a plant built, maybe they'll give us a little more time. If we still messing about, arguing about the proposals and conducting studies, with no clear plan for who is going to run the plant, the SWRCB is less likely to give us a break.

 The idea behind the Public Water Initiative is to conduct a feasibility study to see if a public entity such as the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD) should purchase Cal-Am's assets and infrastructure within the district, and if it is feasible, to use the power of eminent domain to buy out Cal-Am. There's a whole lot of details that would have to be worked out to make that happen, and maybe now is not the time. Why can't we just get the thing built first, and then seize it? I haven't made up my mind how I'm going to vote yet, but the mayors have definitely delivered the first blow.

For more information,http://www.montereyherald.com/news/ci_25348099/peninsula-water-authority-oppose-public-water-initiative.