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News Blog

Peninsula Mayors Propose New Water Authority

Cal Am ratepayers might finally get a stronger voice on the future of the Peninsula's water supply.

Now mayors of the six Peninsula cities—Carmel, Del Rey Oaks, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Sand City and Seaside—have banded together in hopes of getting better representation for the affected public on water supply planning and governance.

"It is now time to roll up our sleeves and act," according to a statement released by Carmel City Manager Jason Stillwell. "Efforts to date have not assured that the Peninsula community will have a stable water supply."

Each of the six cities will consider the proposed joint powers authority at a city council meeting this month, beginning with Carmel Jan. 10., and ending with Del Rey Oaks on Jan. 24.

The proposed JPA agreement comes after an exchange in November in which the mayors asked the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency board to explore expanding its own powers to represent the Peninsula cities. The draft shows a departure from that plan, instead offering up an entirely new entity with its own power to issue and purchase bonds, as well as to study, plan, acquire, construct, maintain, operate or manage water projects, according to the proposed agreement." I think they felt they could move to a mayors JPA faster than modifying our JPA," says MRWPCA General Manager Keith Israel. A modification of its powers would require a unanimous 11-person vote.

The mayors only skirt the question of whether they're satisfied with the existing water purchase agreements that set the stage for the desal project. "A lot of time, resources and funds have been spent by the WPA partners...and they are to be complimented for their efforts...We are ready to work with all concerned to arrive at a viable solution to the water issue: Band-aids need not apply," according to the statement released Friday.

What the proposed JPA would endorse as a viable project is remains unclear. The group, according to Stillwell's announcement, will help accomplish both the now-faltering Regional Project (the desal plant in Marina) "and/or one or more alternative water supply projects." The authority also promises to improve representation for the ratepayers directly impacted by the project.

Part of the JPA's stated goal is to provide governance input should Monterey County Superior Court Judge Lydia Villarreal's ruling last month require a revamp of environmental documents that make the project possible. (The mayors had been meeting about a JPA for months prior to ruling.)

"We’re not a Brown Act group because we don’t meet on a regular basis, it’s as needed," Carmel Mayor Sue McCloud says, adding the draft agreement is now public record and as each city considers adopting it this month, the JPA is open to public comment. The draft released today with Carmel City Council's Jan. 10 agenda was the first public glimpse into the document. It's not clear which mayors, or which attorneys, prepared the proposal.

"I think it indicates a desire to become more involved on the part of the different cities, and that’s always good as a general high-level concept," says interim general manager of the Monterey County Water Resources Agency, David Chardavoyne. Friday afternoon, he'd not yet reviewed the proposed agreement in detail and declined to offer further comment.

MRWPCA representatives plan to attend attend at least several public meetings to gauge public support for the JPA. Israel says it's understandable that the mayors opted for a whole new entity instead of looking to tweak his existing JPA's powers, but expects public concern over the lack of representation for the unincorporated communities of Carmel Valley and Pebble Beach.

Israel says MRWPCA may offer itself up as staff support to a new mayors' JPA, even with the change of direction of expanding its own function. "Maybe that’s a function that we could provide, and we might be able to do it faster and cheaper," he says. “We’re here to help out as needed. I think everyone just wants to have a contingency plan ready to go.”

Whether it duplicates existing power and functions of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District could imperil the legal basis of the JPA, some attorneys say. Representatives of MPWMD were not immediately available for comment.

This blog post has been updated to reflect additional comments from a representative of MRWPCA.