KELSEYVILLE >> Small water companies of the Clearlake Riviera area are considering a consolidation plan after attending a meeting put together by the State Water Resources Control Board and Lake County Special Districts.
The informal meeting was aimed at companies that serve along the lake from Sunrise Shores to Konocti Harbor Resort. At least one representative was present from the seven independent systems, including Golden State Water Company, Crescent Bay Water Company, and Sunrise Shores Company.
With a 28-page presentation ready, Michelle Frederick, district engineer with the Water Board, led the discussion and allowed attendees to communicate their thoughts amongst each other. She shared that because there are clusters of water companies in the northern and southern parts of the area, partnering up could work as it has for Northern Lakeport, which consolidated 41 water systems in the 1980s.
Soda Bay connected 15 of its water systems and Cobb has eight in the process of consolidating as a result of the Valley Fire, according to Lake County Special Districts Administrator Jan Coppinger, who was present at the meeting. Consolidations were made possible through loans and grants, something Frederick and Coppinger reminded company boards could ease partnerships.
“One of the things we’re learning is that regulations are getting tighter, prices are shooting up and we can’t keep raising rates to our customers,” Coppinger said.
She suggested companies to look into what Cobb is doing and be prepared in case of another disaster such as the Valley Fire.
“Costs were the same for the 150 customers before the fire and for the 14 customers after,” she added. “Everything stayed the same except for our revenue and that was a big wake up call. We said, ‘We got to combine.’”
Keith Ahart, representing the Golden State Water Company, said he attended the meeting to share the water system is interested in taking on more because of the economies of scale. He explained that by combining smaller systems with a larger company like Golden State, costs and resources can be better spread with a larger customer base.
One attendee thought the idea was far-fetched, saying there was not a way to physically connect the systems.
In response, Coppinger said some water systems in Cobb are consolidating, though they cannot be physically connected.
“They can respond quicker, even though there’s no way to physically connect. They still share the same treatment operator, the same utility people, and even the same truck,” she said.
As more ideas were exchanged, some board members contemplated the downsides of partnering up, including having to explain to customers a change in prices that could be higher or undergoing the complex procedure of changing bylaws.
Mary Benson, a licensed water treatment operator at Crescent Bay Improvement Company in Jago Bay, had a lot to say on the contrary. She pointed out that some current companies are owned by individuals of advanced age. A sudden health issue or death could leave those water systems without a water operator for an unknown period of time. Violations were also highlighted. Benson explained that small companies are “much more likely to be cited for these types of violations than larger companies,” especially those with financial difficulties. A report that collected data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s federal Safe Drinking Water Information System said that small water systems that are financially challenged were 67 percent more likely to have a monitoring or reporting violation than those without. She also emphasized that if a fire were to damage the underground water pipes, as it did during the Valley Fire, then water companies would not have the resources to replace the damage since none of their insurances policies provide coverage for undergoing pipe repair.
“Together, as part of a larger group of companies, we have a better chance of being able to rebuild what would be damaged in the event of a wildfire … or some other disaster. If we are joined, we are better able to fill in for one another,” said Benson.
A further meeting will be scheduled in the future to continue the conversation. Benson said a date has not yet been assigned.
