EDITOR: We pay some of highest water rates in the valley. If you
were to use 500 gallons per day for calculation purposes your
monthly bill if you lived in Gilroy would be $18.15. If you lived
in Milpitas, it would be $23.06, but because you live in Morgan
Hill, your bill is $38.50.
EDITOR:
We pay some of highest water rates in the valley.
If you were to use 500 gallons per day for calculation purposes your monthly bill if you lived in Gilroy would be $18.15. If you lived in Milpitas, it would be $23.06, but because you live in Morgan Hill, your bill is $38.50.
There are policies and other charges that other cities have and we have them as well such as a lift station charge, but regardless, gallon per gallon we are paying more.
Several months ago when I asked the City Council for a comparative study, it refused. There is no reason why we should not know how we compare with others. It is not too difficult and much of the information is on-line. We do not need to hire a consultant for such an analysis.
But you do need to hire a consultant if you wanted to compute your own utility bill. There are missing values. You can’t take the information on your bill, do the math and match the dollar amount. It’s not possible. Also, the bill lacks comparative data, like what you used last year. You can find a similar comparison your energy bill. This needs to change.
The city says it needs to continue to increase rates because of increase pumping and issues with perchlorate. Why?
Where is Olin who poisoned our water? Why are we paying for any part of this ecological disaster? Olin needs to be doing more, and we should not be raising long term rates if Olin is to reimburse us in the short term.
As for perchlorate, San Martin, though inundated, is getting a better deal. Pure bottled water is being delivered directly to affected homes.
In Morgan Hill all of our drinking water is tainted with perchlorate and we are left with buying our own bottled water. None of this makes sense and it’s not the whole picture. The city has increased its water utility costs on almost every single budget line item with little justification, performance criteria or a detailed explanation.
This city does not have a viable and measurable water conservation plan. Our current plan is simply to raise your rates. There are no incentives or strategic plans. On new city developments we should be using drought tolerant, native California plants.
When new housing developments are reviewed and approved, there should be incentives if not requirements for water saving engineering, and the use of drought tolerant, native plants.
In San Martin you will find the Saratoga Horticultural Society, a non-profit group that specializes and promotes native California plants. We could partner with them for new city developments, parks and other facilities while reducing our costs and becoming even more Californian. There are many public education opportunities that have been missed. We can do so much more.
We need to understand how other cities are dealing with this issue. We are not alone. I would begin with an audit of the utility division, looking for administrative and work flow efficiency.
Aside from residential rates what about commercial rates? These charges are missing from the city web site. Why? I would create a citizen-led committee to look into all water rates, sewer and other charges. We should not do less.
Water conservation is an issue for every city today and with continued growth even more so tomorrow. We need to be moving proactively to solve these problems while keeping our rates affordable, and reasonable for when it comes to water, we have no choice. The city is the only provider and their only competition is our advocacy.
Mark Grzan,
Morgan Hill
