Hillcrest Water Conversion

November 24, 2008 Update - The protest hearing was held this afternoon, the protests were counted and the City Clerk reported that there were protests from manifestly less than half of the parcels in both Hillcrest Region 1 and Hillcrest Region 2/3.

In Hillcrest Region 1 there were 173 protests (about 17%). Opponents needed about 500 protests for their protest to be successful. There were 634 protests in Region 2/3 (about 21%). Opponents needed about 1,500 protests for their protest to be successful.

Also of note is the positive feedback received by the City. In response to an Email to the City Clerk asking how many cards and letters they received supporting the City proposal, she responded;

"We did not tally the letters in support as part of the process yesterday, because only the protests count. However, I believe that there were more cards/letters in support that were received than there were protests.

Terrel Locke
City Clerk
City of Yuba City"

Some people will begin receiving surface water sooner than others but the estimate is that all Hillcrest water customers should receive surface water by the summer of 2010.

The surcharge will not be charged to people until at least one month after they begin receiving surface water.

The issue is water!

Life is short. This proposal gives us better water, better water pressure and, if you live in the Hillcrest 2/3 area, an adequate supply of water.

The cost is less than most of us pay for bottled water, water softener salt & repairs, repair and premature replacement of plumbing fixtures and etc. For about $20 to $25 per month extra, we can have a long term solution to the problems of the Hillcrest water system (HWS).

If you are like us, you have better things to do than squabble over paying $20 to $25 per month extra to fix our water problems. Let's end the debate now. Please join us in supporting the City's proposal for better water.

The Hillcrest water system has three major problems - inadequate water, poor water quality and high operating costs.

Inadequate Water:
One well in the Hillcrest 2/3 area had to be shut down because of high nitrates. Filtering out arsenic reduces plant capacity by another 20%. There simply is not enough water in the Hillcrest 2/3 system to meet the demand during peak hours and this results in low water pressure and periodic murky water. The surface water system (SWS) was subsidizing the Hillcrest 2/3 region with over 1 million gallons of water per day last summer.

Poor Water Quality:
All Hillcrest water is very hard and also has to be chemically treated to reduce arsenic to safe levels. More significantly, one well in the Hillcrest 2/3 system has been taken off line because of an unsafe level of nitrates.

Continual Deficits From High Operating and Maintenance Costs:
The City lost $667,000 in the first 7 years of operating the Hillcrest water system which serves about 4,000 homes. This loss works out to about $2.00 per home per month. In addition, Michael Colantuono, an attorney that has been advising the City on the proposal to convert HWS customers to surface water, has said "The surface water accounts have been lending money to the Hillcrest water accounts and that's fine provided that you are tracking it and intend to get the money back." At some point, the City will be forced to propose rate increases for the HWS as a means to eliminate operating losses and to repay the money loaned to it by the SWS.

This page was last updated October 21, 2008