City Will Close Its Hydroelectric Plant

City officials are giving notice to regional water and electric companies that the city soon will be out of the hydroelectric business.

As soon as a new city-owned well in Boisseranc Park starts pumping fresh ground water at the end of the year, city pipes will lose much of the pressure that keeps turbines rolling at its underground plant at Dale Street and La Palma Avenue, public works officials said.

City Council members unanimously agreed during a meeting Monday night to officially close the electric plant.

The move, part of the city’s plan to rely less on imported water, should save the city about $900,000 per year, said Loren Tuthill, deputy public works director.

The plant, built in 1984, is no longer profitable because the price of water from the Metropolitan Water District has increased.

Those rising costs also motivated the public works department to explore water sources within city boundaries, leading to the discovery of an aquifer under Boisseranc Park that had twice the expected capacity. Another was discovered at Larwin Park.

Residents will have another benefit besides saving the city money, said Chuck Fowler, a water quality inspector. “The ground water is a lot better tasting,” he said.

A rise in water rates is still a possibility, however, as the city faces a $2-million deficit in its budget. The City Council will have a public meeting July 1 to discuss a possible increase.