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PEBBLE BEACH CO. PROPOSAL TO SELL "ENTITLED" WATER

From the Monterey County Herald
Serving Monterey County and the Salinas Valley

March 6, 2002

L E T T E R S

The water recycling project desired by Pebble Beach Co. is easy to understand. Their private courses require much fresh Peninsula water. They want to replace this golf course water with water obtained through expansion of their recycling plant. They are happy to "pay" for the plant if the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District will let the company "sell" the former golf course water for additional housing in Pebble Beach. In addition, the MPWMD must "guarantee" the output of the recycling plant, even though Pebble Beach Co. is designing the plant.

This is a bad plan. First, it puts a private company in the business of buying and selling a scarce resource needed by us all. Second, it uses water reclaimed from households to replace fresh water the company currently uses to irrigate private golf courses.

The net result would be more households dependent on the same amount of water, with no additional water supplies. In the advent of a severe drought, Peninsula households would drastically curtail water use and the amount of available reclaimed water would be severely reduced. The water district would be left holding the ball with insufficient water to supply both the golf courses and the new houses built under this plan.

Dennis Knepp
Monterey