Front Page  »  

Oceano water sale rejected

February 10, 2011

After hours of public comments and debate, the members of the Oceano Service District on Wednesday voted 3-2 against the sale of 100 acre feet of water to Pismo Beach.

Oceano is in serious financial trouble with failing infrastructure and an almost non-existent reserve fund. The deal would have permanently sold 100 acre feet of Oceano’s yearly water allotment and provided the district the funds to fix an aged and leaky system of pipes.

To help sweeten the deal, the developer of the Los Robles Del Mar residential project just outside Pismo Beach had offered to pay almost $2 million in a onetime payment and connection fees.

Critics of the deal argued that the sale could lead to future shortages, the people should have a vote and/or that the board was not knowledgeable enough to make the deal.

The district is still bargaining with another Pismo Beach developer and the city of Arroyo Grande about two unrelated proposed water purchases.

Oceano residents recently filed a petition with the San Luis Obispo County Clerk Recorder saying that any future water sale requires a vote of the people. On Feb. 23, the board will vote on the petition.


Loading...
Subjects:             
Related:


7 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

As bad as it is in Oceano, I wonder if anyone has looked at the salary structure of the city employees. It might ring a BELL with someone to look and see if the terrible financial straits are in part due to outrageous salaries. Just a thought…


0

Along with AG and Grover, what will happen to a struggling Oceano’s cash reserves when the State Water Quality Control Board issues yet another notice of violation to the Sanitation District that’s under Wallace’s management for the Dec 18th spill? This time there will be likely huge monetary fines, combine this with two lawsuits against the Sanitation District because of Wallace’s management tactics and negligence and its not looking to good is it. This is coming folks, there’s no question about it. I see Oceano has proposed another water and sewer rate increase for its residence, hopefully to cover the needed infrastructure and not another Wallace Group 10% rate increase like in 08 or there about. And to think Nicols tried to convince us that going out to open bidding for services would cost the tax payers a fortune, what are the two lawsuits and two NOV’s from the state gonna cost us?


0

Wow, at least somewhere in this County/State someone is listening to its citizens. I loved the comment “… the board was not knowledgeable enough to make the deal.” This was an honest statement! No community should give away its water to another at the other will just continue to develop and therefore need more water. Ask Paso how their water situation is right now! Still love all those wineries up there?


0

Honesty usually does work. Often painful, but worth it in the end.


0

This is just the beginning,”Whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting over”…


Pay close attention to how the countyies and the bigger cities maneuver to garnish the water supplies of smaller towns and unincorporated areas, and what it is they are actually doing to get that water.

And how about that Naci pipeline that no one (except the city of SLO) wants and now the county has to get someone to pay for, including the treatment facilities… Look out Paso, look out Atascadero.

Even little Santa Margarita is being steered to take State Water or Naci Water by the county under the guise of “drought reliability” . In fact one of the sources of State Water would have been Shandon’s 100 acre feet which it now wants to keep.

Interesting how until the 1990’s Santa Margarita held a State Water Resources Control Board Permit # 7253, dating back to the 1940’s, to 200 acre feet of Santa Margarita Lake water which was lost “by lack of diligence” on the part of the permitee (the county of SLO). Guess who today, gets 100% of all the water in Santa Margarita Lake? The city of SLO, that’s who.

Guess who has no local permanent source of water within it’s own boundaries? That same city…

Guess where the county seat and all of the county offices are located? That same city…


0

Cal Poly shares in the water the City receives. Cal Poly and SLO own rights to Whale Rock is a “local” source.


0

You are correct in that the City of SLO, Cal Poly, the Mens Colony as well as Cuesta College all benefit from this water.

But, the only city well I know of inside the city limits is out by Broad Street. All other sources of water for commercial and domestic use come from reservoirs outside the city.


0