The Capistrano Dispatch
As part of The Capistrano Dispatch’s ongoing coverage of the San Juan Capistrano City Council election, we asked each of the eight candidates five questions about local issues. In the editions of The Dispatch leading up to the Nov. 8 election, we’re publishing their answers in the order their names will appear on the ballot.
This week, we asked:
The city has been actively studying and exploring reorganizing its utilities department and potentially getting out of the water business. What do you feel is the best course of action regarding operation of the city’s water utilities and groundwater recovery plant?
District 1:
Sergio Farias, Small Business Owner
Farias said he feels the city is in a “good position to be taken over by a larger water district.” He views the groundwater recovery plant as an asset that could potentially be used in the future for water recovery.
“I do think that we need to join a larger water district; however, I think the positioning we put ourselves in is important,” Farias said. “I think we shouldn’t go and beg to be taken over. We need to make sure that we hold all the cards.
“Ensuring that we have representation in any water district we join is going to be very important and crucial,” Farias continued.
Farias noted that running our own water district takes up a lot of city staff time, which isn’t “something that benefits any of us.”
Nathan Banda, Businessman/City of San Juan Capistrano Commissioner
Banda said the lawsuits surrounding water in San Juan Capistrano are a good indication that the city “really needs to explore looking to other agencies to operate” its water utility.
He added that the water department is a small one, so he’s also “mindful of the employees of the city.”
“Some of them are residents of this town, and some of them are in my district,” Banda said. “It’s a really tough one. I’m still continuing to study it, because it’s not an easy task.”
Banda compared having another agency operate the city’s water department to contracting the city’s police force through Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Banda said it makes sense in both cases, and added that the money spent on water lawsuits could be going elsewhere, like to the city’s youth.
District 5:
Larry Kramer, Retired Submarine Captain
Kramer said the city has “wasted a lot of money, to the tune of $600,000” by doing the utilities reorganization study “without looking at costs.”
“I think we are going to have to go to a larger water company,” Kramer said. “I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. Politically, it’s a great thing, because a lot of the time spent by the city is on that. It’s probably better to get out of the water business and let real experts run the water company.”
Kramer said his interest is in making sure that whoever the city goes with “gives us a reliable source of water at the lowest cost.” He added that while the city transitions to a new water company, a new rate study is needed “because our current rates have no basis in the real world today.”
Jim Schneider, Professional Geologist/Professor
Schneider said a representative with a background in science is needed on the dais to talk about issues like water and the groundwater recovery plant.
“In my opinion, as a geologist, it should have never been built in the first place,” he said. “I worry about the long-term conditions of wells that sit there and don’t get used—wells we have to refurbish.
Schneider said it’s frustrating to see the city spending money on parts and maintenance for a plant that “shouldn’t be on such a small aquifer anyway.” He thinks the city should annex the plant and get out of the water business.
“A small Southern California city has no business being in the water business,” he said. “Combining with other water districts is an option, but I would like to see how much money it’s going to cost us.”
Mechelle Lawrence Adams, Director, Historic Mission
Lawrence Adams said she’s usually in favor of local control, but her perspective on the water department has changed from 25 years ago when she worked for the city.
“In this day and age, with the drought being so significant and everything being so technology driven, I really believe we need to get out of the water business,” she said.
Lawrence Adams said the city has a responsibility to not only look carefully at the LAFCO study and which agencies have been recommended as good partners, but also to ensure that residents are represented and that they understand their service provider and what their rates are based on.
“It’s going to come down to representation, service rates and local control,” she said. “I want to make sure our residents get what they pay for, and that good service doesn’t get lost in a merger.”
Ronda Mottl, Media Executive
Mottl said she’s in favor of the city getting out of the water business.
“We need to cut our losses [with the groundwater recovery plant]” Mottl said. “We need to look at the future.”
Mottl said she’s also in favor of exploring other alternatives, like the Cadiz groundwater basin in the Mojave Desert. Mottl said a pipeline could deliver water to the Metropolitan Water District or Santa Margarita Water District, and the city would source its water from there.
“We could supply water to about 400,000 families,” Mottl said, adding that the major challenge to that alternative is U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein.
“Making sure South Orange County has water is important,” Mottl said. “Our residents are starving. They’re dehydrated. We need water.”
Brian Maryott, Financial Services Executive
Maryott said it’s been proven that the city cannot run its own water company, and the drought can’t solely be blamed for that.
“We’ve essentially beat the daylights out of this little aquifer, and it’s affected other entities,” he said.
Maryott said he thinks the city should become a water customer and “go about it with focus, intensity and a sense of urgency.”
“Also very important is how we get some value from the plant itself,” Maryott said. “It was a big expenditure, and we’re still more or less on the hook for over $40 million. We have to be very diligent in exploring how we wrap it into an agreement, regionalize it or somehow lift that burden from the residents of San Juan, so we’re not paying for it without the benefits. It’s going to depend on negotiation and collaboration.”
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