MWD Charge

I’m surprised that there has been no uproar of protest of the Metropolitan Water District’s plan to add a “water standby charge” of up to $15 per year per household.

The charge is anti-conservationist and unfair. The less you use, the more you pay per unit with the water standby charge spread over your entire bill. In other words, someone who uses 100 units per year will pay $.15 per unit. Someone who uses 1,000 units will pay only $.015 per unit. This does not promote conservation of resources.

Secondly, the district asserts it will abandon its request if 40% of the parcels subject to the charge protest it. That is patently ridiculous. Fewer than that percentage of persons vote in a municipal election; and far fewer than 40% are ever on one side or the other of a question. In effect, they are saying that unless there is a public outcry the likes of which this country has never seen in any election for any reason, why, then, they’ll go ahead with the charge.

In fairness, the 40% figure should apply to the number of letters received on the subject and the charge should be a per unit charge that does not punish those who conserve water.

PAUL CHITLIK

Burbank