To Put Spark in Ho-Hum Election, Just Add Water

Mark Twain keenly observed once that whiskey was for drinking and water was for fighting over.

What could have been a sleepy community election for two seats on the board of the Channel Islands Community Service District in November, has been transformed into a hotly contested six-person race by the unlikely issue of water.

Two of the four challengers say they were propelled into action when they considered how much a highly touted Port Hueneme Water Agency project would affect pocketbooks in the beach communities that are part of the service district.

“Right now our water rates are the second highest after Ojai,” said candidate Diane Markham, a Hollywood-by-the-Sea resident and insurance agent.

“We know we need this project, but . . . I am not willing to just roll over and play dead. I see this as a real problem.”

Incumbent Patrick Forrest, who has served on the board 18 years, said the water issue is only one aspect of the larger issues of quality of life residents of the small beach communities will have to grapple with in the near future.

“The water issue should be pretty much put to bed,” said Forrest, a Hollywood Beach resident who is seeking reelection. “The district is at a crossroads. We need to start discussing the future of the district and possibilities of annexation.”

The water project was planned to improve service supplies to the beach communities, which lie on county land adjacent to Oxnard and Port Hueneme.

These communities--Silver Strand, Hollywood-by-the-Sea and Hollywood Beach--are notorious for their foul tasting, hard water. The supply of well water to these areas is projected to drop by 25% by the year 2010.

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The Port Hueneme Water Agency, formed specifically for the current project, is embarking on a $16-million water desalination plant to bring pure, soft water to several areas, including the Oxnard area beaches.

However, businesses at the county-owned Channel Island Harbor, which account for 45% of water service use within the district, have threatened to pull out of the agreement and instead get their water at a cheaper rate from Oxnard. If they pull out, residents’ water bills could increase significantly.

Already, area residents can expect their fees to rise from an average of $23 to about $42 a month, according to the agency. If the harbor businesses leave the district, residents’ rates could go up an additional 36%, according to one study commissioned by the community services district.

In late July, the district board members voted to go through with the project even though the issue with the harbor businesses has not been resolved.

Both incumbents up for reelection, Forrest and Gail Pringle, voted in favor of continuing with the deal.

One challenger, Marvin Dinovitz, an engineer from Silver Strand, said the water issue was not his main concern.

“I was pleased they went through with the project,” Dinovitz said. “You have to understand the urgency of the project.”

Another candidate, former district employee Nancy Walker, said she understood the need for the project but was concerned about the cost.

The original budget estimate for the project was $12 million. But due to some unexpected cost increases, the estimated budget has now grown to nearly $17 million, according to the water agency’s finance director.

In early August, the agency approved a $945,000 bid for pipeline construction. That day, the harbor businesses delivered a strongly worded letter to the agency and the district warning that any further action could only lead to “disastrous results,” including possible lawsuits.

County water officials chimed in last week with a letter stating a revised study had shown that “obtaining water services from the city of Oxnard is considerably less costly than obtaining water from your district, even under the most conservative scenarios.” They urged the district not to move ahead with the project.

The district, which continues to negotiate with the county over the water rates for harbor businesses, is determined to continue with the project. So is the water agency, which has allocated $10,000 in public funds to throw a groundbreaking party in October.

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That money, said board member Pringle, amounts to only 26 cents for each person in the agency’s jurisdiction. The party, Pringle said, is a way to publicly recognize the people who have labored intensely to put the water deal together.

Some think otherwise.

“I think it is outrageous for the board to decide to have a party to celebrate when the community is going to be faced with the high rates,” said candidate Victoria Finan, a Silver Strand resident and small-business owner. “That is a tremendous amount of money to spend on a party.”