OXNARD : Council OKs Plan for El Rio Water

Oxnard has agreed to extend emergency water service to the residents of El Rio, a low-income neighborhood just north of the city limits, until April 20.

El Rio Mutual Water Co. has until Feb. 15 to enter the proposed emergency agreement, or Oxnard will cut off its water.

Under the agreement endorsed Tuesday by the Oxnard City Council, El Rio’s 90 families--who began receiving city water Dec. 20 when their well closed because the water was contaminated--would have to pay three times the city’s normal water rate. The average monthly water bill for Oxnard residents is $15.50, Public Works management analyst Julie Hernandez said.

In addition to the triple rate, El Rio residents already have agreed to pay a total of $18,000 in hookup fees; if a long-term agreement is reached, they would also have to pay for the cost of installing water meters. These costs, plus interest, would be spread out over a five-year period.

John Ahmanson, president of El Rio’s water company, said residents were willing to pay the stiff rate increase if Oxnard gives them a written cost estimate and the county agrees not to impose a building moratorium for the area.

If such an agreement cannot be reached, Ahmanson said, El Rio residents will dig a new well.

Hernandez said city officials were meeting with representatives from the county and El Rio to iron out differences before the Feb. 15 deadline.

The deadline for a permanent agreement is April 20.

City Atty. Gary Lee Gillig said the triple rate would cover capital expenses and other costs that city residents normally pay through property taxes.

“We’re not trying to make a profit,” Gillig said. “We just want to recover our costs.”