|
News & Features
From the Idyllwild Town Crier weekly newspaper, 06.18.09 edition.
Pine Cove wants to end Water Agency
By J.P. Crumrine, News
Editor
The Pine Cove Water District (PCWD) finally
expressed its frustration with the Mt. San Jacinto Water Study Agency
(WSA). With President Thomas McCullough leading, the board sent a
letter to both the Fern Valley and Idyllwild water districts
recommending that the trio terminate their joint power agency, the WSA.
In the letter, PCWD enumerated six reasons for ending the formal
relationship among the three water districts. However, PCWD was careful
not to adopt an isolationist position. The letter begins with an
affirmation of the district’s willingness to support mutual aid
agreements between the water agencies.
The WSA’s original purpose, a joint waste treatment facility for the
Hill, has never been realized and that is McCullough’s first point. He
also noted that the WSA’s 2005 Resource Management Plan was not
unanimously embraced. Finally, the original incorporation agreement
established a Dec. 31, 2013 sunset date. PCWD is suggesting an earlier
end to the hobbled agency.
However, the recent proposal to expand the WSA’s mission to “construct,
own and operate domestic water and wastewater facilities” revived the
specter of an old wound or irritant — consolidation.
While McCullough and his colleagues did not raise this old ghost, Nancy
Borchers, Pine Cove resident and former president of the property
owners association, described the proposed expanded mission as “an end
run around consolidation.”
“Water czar,” is Director Lou Padula’s interpretation of the proposed
mission expansion.
While PCWD acknowledges that they and IWD share wells at Dutch Flats,
the board has no interest in expanding the number of wells it shares
with other districts.
"PCWD believes that a joint operation of additional water production
facilities involving all three districts would be cumbersome,
inefficient and unnecessarily expensive,” according to its letter.
WSA’s future purpose was to be discussed at its meeting last week;
however because various versions of the language were circulating among
the members, the topic was postponed until the September meeting.
Marge Muir, Pine Cove resident and local real estate broker, also
attended the PCWD meeting and spoke more sympathetically about the WSA.
She made two points to the directors.
First a WSA meeting, regardless of frequency, offered a forum to
discuss and possibly collaborate on common Hill water issues. Secondly,
she expressed concern about the future advent of strong septic system
regulations coming from the state to the county.
In response, McCullough said that the current agreement does not
address septic systems. If the need for cooperation or common
regulation occurs, the districts can address the matter then. Even so,
that event may occur beyond the sunset date.
“It’s a good letter and I’m glad you emphasized cooperation,” Director
Mike Esnard said before the vote, which was unanimous.
Web Site designed by the Idyllwild
Town Crier © 1995-2007 by Idyllwild Publications
WEBMASTER
|
