Dear Editor, Over the past few years, I voiced my opposition to
the Santa Clara Valley Water District rate increases on the well
water pump tax.
Dear Editor,
Over the past few years, I voiced my opposition to the Santa Clara Valley Water District rate increases on the well water pump tax. I have written letters to the Editors of the Morgan Hill Times and the Gilroy Dispatch. I also made presentations in front of the Water District Board of Directors about the ever increasing water rates.
What I find is that this Water Board is not properly overseeing the Districts’ staff budgets each year for water rate increases. This year the District staff informed the rate payer that the cost of water from the Central Valley Water Project has gone up by $700,000, when in fact the CVP contract rates have not increased in the last 5 years.
I have lived in San Martin for 18 years and I keep excellent records. Over that time period my phone bill increase by 25.2 percent, and my PG&E bill has gone up by 161.6 percent. My water bill from the Santa Clara Valley Water District has increased by 877.2 percent. There is definitely something wrong with these outlandish water rate increases.
Why is it that in 1986, the last year that Gavilan Water Conservation District had responsibility for all the ground water from Tennant Ave. south to the San Benito County line, never charged the well owner a pump tax. Only the City of Gilroy was charged $25 an acre-foot for the water they used. Then in 1987, the Santa Clara Valley Water District started charging all of us for water that had been free from natural recharge.
I can understand why the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors decided to sever official ties with being the financial oversight of the Water District’s budget. But at the Aug. 9 County Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Don Gage stated that once people get fed up with water rates and understand what’s going on, the Water Board will be accountable. That is the problem, the Water Board has not been accountable and needs to be replaced by people who can understand a budget.
So now it has been left up to the rate payers to remove this current Water District Board of Directors. If they are not replaced, we will all see very high increases in our South County water rates over the next 10 years.
Robert J. Cerruti, San Martin
