OJAI VALLEY : Treatment Plant Funding Weighed
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Ojai Valley residents may pay as much as 80% higher water bills if the Casitas Municipal Water District is forced to finance a state-mandated water-treatment facility by raising rates, a Casitas official said Tuesday.
Officials are studying three options to pay for the $35-million facility, Casitas General Manager John Johnson said during a report to the Ojai City Council.
Two options involve taxpayer-approved bond measures, while the third involves raising rates, Johnson said.
The treatment plant was mandated after state inspectors found that Lake Casitas no longer met the state’s rigid water quality standards, Johnson said.
If either bond measure is rejected by voters, raising water rates could be the only way to pay for the facility and avoid state fines of up to $25,000 a day for failing to meet water quality standards, he said.
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