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WATER ISSUES ON THE PENINSULA
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 10-22-04 - Mark Stilwell, Pebble Beach Company Executive Vice President, reported, at the Pebble Beach Community Services District meeting on September 24 that Forest property owners are responding to their September 2004 letter outlining how owners may subscribe to a plan which allows them to buy potable water from PB Co.'s allotment of "entitled" water.

Mr. Stilwell reported that as of September 10, 2004 $5.0 million in acre-feet of water rights had been subscribed to by Forest property owners. He indicated that he is receiving approximately 30 inquiries per day.

This plan to sell water rights has been initiated by the PB Co. to help finance the Phase II Improvement of the Wastewater Reclamation Plant/System.

• For more information, read the section of the PBCSD September 24, 2004 Board Meeting Minutes item entitled "Reclamation Management Committee Meeting/Expanded Project Financing" on a page on this website.
  
• You may also read these Board Minutes posted on the PBCSD website (external link)

5-28-04 - P.B. Co, authorized to sell "entitled" water for between $150,000 and $175,000 per acre-foot, several times more than the water district's $20,000 per acre-foot price. The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District board approved by 4-2 an Ordinance, No 109, allowing P.B. Co. to sell 175 acre-feet of their water to raise money to improve the existing waste water reclamation plant and reopen the Forest Lake reservoir for storage of reclaimed water.

• Read the May 28th story "P.B. gets OK to sell water rights" on the Monterey County Herald website (external link)

4-23-04 -Monterey Peninsula Water Management District Board reviewed the proposed Ordinance # 109 at the April 22nd meeting covering an Agreement between the District and PB Co. to permit the sale of "entitled water" to Forest property owners.

This Ordinance will be considered again for adoption at the MPWMD May 27th special meeting. The revenue from this sales plan will be used to finance improvements to the existing inadequate Wastewater Reclamation System for the Del Monte Forest. Three other separate agreements with organizations in the Forest that now use reclaimed water for golf courses will also be considered at the May 27th meeting. The MPWMD website, www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us will include details of this Ordinance and Agreements on May 14, 2004.

December 16, 2003 - New Monterey Peninsula Water Management District Board of Directors voted unanimously on Dec. 15th to reconsider Pebble Beach Co.'s plan to sell "entitled" water to finance improvements to existing WASTEWATER RECLAMATION SYSTEM for Del Monte Forest.

The plan, covered by a proposed new Ordinance # 109, was approved by the old Board members last month, but it contained several items that were not acceptable to the PB Co. and a group of independent golf course owners in Pebble Beach that need improved recycled water.

Some of the unacceptable restrictions in the proposed Ordinance are:

• Conditions allowing emergency use of fresh water in case the recycling system fails
• Giving the gold course owners less time to use fresh water than they desire
• Proposed accounting system for monitoring water use by those who purchase the water rights sold by PB Co.

The proposed plan will be reviewed in March, 2004 after the district's staff works out problem issues with PB Co, the Carmel Area Wastewater district and the groups of independent golf course owners in Pebble Beach.

Click HERE to view "New water board does some undoing" article from the December 19 issue of the Carmel Pine Cone (on this website) or www.carmelpinecone.com/ (external link)

Click HERE to view "New Board reconsiders P.B. plan" article from the December 16 issue of the Monterey Herald (on this website) or www.montereyherald.com/ (external link)

November 18, 2003 - MPWMD Directors delayed approving a new Ordance No. 109 covering Pebble Beach Co's. proposal to sell "entitled" water and finance construction of improvements to existing Wastewater Reclamation project until their next meeting on Monday, November 24, 2003.

The proposal allows Pebble Beach Company to sell their "entitled" water to residential property owners only in Del Monte Forest. The funds will be used to finance the construction of the Phase II Improvements to the Carmel Area Watewater District/Pebble Beach Community Services District Recycled Water Reclamation Project, including the use of the Forest Lake reservoir.

Click HERE to view the Monterey Herald November 18, 2003 story - "Water Board Delays Pebble Beach Plan" -(external link)

Click HERE to read past reports on this PB Co. project (on this website)

October 20, 2003 - Water Board (MPWMD) OKs Pebble Beach Co's. proposal to sell "entitled" water and finance construction of improvements to existing Wastewater Reclamation project. New Ordinance No. 109 expected to become law at MPWMD meeting on November 17th.

The proposal allows Pebble Beach Company to sell their "entitled" water to residential property owners only in Del Monte Forest. The funds will be used to finance the construction of the Phase II Improvements to the Carmel Area Watewater District/Pebble Beach Community Services District Recycled Water Reclamation Project.

For details on the October 20, 2003 MPWMD meeting, read the October 21, 2003 story in the Monterey Herald.

Click HERE to read the series of other documents also needed to complete the proposed Financing Plan as printed in the Agenda at the October 20, 2003 MPWMD Board meeting. http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/boardpacket/20031020/html/2/item2.htm (EXTERNAL LINK)

Click HERE to read past reports on this PB Co. project on this website

September16, 2003 - PB Co's plan to sell "entitled" water - Monterey Peninsula Water Management District Board of Directors voted to postpone taking action on Pebble Beach Co.'s proposal to sell "entitled"water to residential properties throughout Del Monte Forest at $150,000 an acre-foot to finance construction of the Phase II Improvements to the Carmel Area Wastewater District/Pebble Beach Community Services District Recycled Water Reclamation Project. The first reading of Ordinance No. 109 was continued to their October 20, 2003 meeting.

For more information, read "Water sale to P.B. property owners could finance reclamation project" in the October 17, 2003 issue of The Carmel Pine Cone

For more on this proposal read the September 16, 2003 Monterey Herald new story "Pebble Beach water system upgrades could allow new homes, renovations".

Click HERE to read about other WATER ISSUES ON THE PENINSULA (on this website)

December, 2002 - Monterey Peninsula Water Management District Board Update

The District Staff met in October with the organizations, agencies and companies involved with the planned "Phase II Improvements to the Wastewater Reclamation Project." The Pebble Beach Company's request for approval to sell "entitled" water at $150,000 an acre-foot to finance the reclamation project improvements was discussed at this meeting.

The staff has now learned that Pebble Beach Company will soon present a new revised request/proposal to the MPWMD for financing the improvements required to permit the reclamation system to produce a new,increased amount of acceptable reclaimed water for golf courses and recreation areas in Del Monte Forest.

Details of the new proposal and the MPWMD action on this project will be posted on this website when made available by the District Staff.

Readers of this information may wish to provide the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District Directors with their views on this unusual, complex proposal to sell this water at http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/

The Directors are: Alvin Edwards, Judi Lehman, Molly Erickson, Kris Lindstrom, Alexander "Zen" Henson, David Potter and David Pendergrass. Write to MPWMD, Post Office Box 85, Monterey, CA 93942-0085. Telephone: 831-658-5600. Location: 5 Harris Court, Bldg. G.

Acting General Manager: Fran Farina. Telehone: 831-658-5656, Fax: 831-644-9560

 READ OTHER ARTICLES PRINTED IN THE MONTEREY COUNTY HERALD

• League of Women Voters asks seven questions about this plan - January 24, 2002
  "7. Finally, does it reflect sound public policy to permit discrimination based on financial status in the handling of a public resources such as water?"
  
  
• Pebble Beach Company water grabbing - HOPE, February 28, 2002
  "PBC must recognize they do not own valid rights to 360 acre feet of water."
  
  
• "Water district to weigh P.B. plan" - Monterey County Herald, January 31, 2002
  "The Pebble Beach company's request for permission to sell 100 acre-feet of 'entitled' water at $150,000 per acre-foot to finance improvements to a water reclamation system will be reviewed by the Board's Water Demand Committee."
  
  
• "P.B. offers details of water proposal" - Monterey County Herald, December 27, 2001
  "The proposal includes a number of conditions that would have to be approved by <a majority vote of> the Peninsula water board as would the basic concepts of releasing water from the residential lots it is currently tied to."
  
  
• "Water deal in the works" - Monterey County Herald, November 25, 2001
  "In the past 12 months, the Del Monte Forest golf courses and Stevenson school fields have used reclaimed water along with 374 acre-feet of Cal-Am tap water." <This 374 acre-feet of tap water computes to be enough for 1,496 average homes within the peninsula water district > -- Ed>
  
  
• "Plan to improve P.B.reservoir approved" - Monterey County Herald, August 9, 2001
  "County Planning commissioners unanimously approved a plan to improve the existing Forest Lake Reservoir"
  
  
• "It is my opinion that the water district never had any legal authority or water rights to sell or give to Pebble Beach Co." - Monterey County Herald, November 30, 2001- Thank you for Sunday's story exposing Pebble Beach Co.'s planned water profiteering. Please let me add a few fascinating points.
  
  
• "Objections to the use of Forest Lake as a huge reservoir" ...accompanied by DMFLUAC Agenda item, July, 2001