COUNTYWIDE : Fee Considered to Fund Water Projects
Ventura County’s largest supplier of imported water is considering imposing a new fee on landowners to pay for the construction of pipes and treatment plants for the next decade.
Members of the Calleguas Municipal Water District board discussed the fee with a consultant at a board meeting Wednesday but said they would not make a decision until a later date.
The fee could be as low as $10 a year per parcel, including vacant land that does not now receive any water from the agency, board Chairman Patrick Miller said.
Consultant Glenn Riter said that, if the charge is imposed on all 150,000 parcels in the district, it could generate up to $3.2 million per year.
Last year, the district raised water rates by 28% and issued more than $65 million in bonds to finance an estimated $185 million in new construction, officials said.
General Manager James A. Hubert said the largest project is a $51-million water treatment plant at Bard Reservoir near Simi Valley.
“We’ve got a 10-year program ahead of us, so we’re looking at all sources (of funds),” said Kurt Reithmayr, one of five members of the district’s board of directors.
Calleguas supplies Simi Valley, Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo and Oxnard with water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
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