Hillcrest water on YC agenda
Yuba City City Council members could vote Tuesday to supply city surface water to more than 4,000 homes in the Hillcrest area.
Two council members who comprise a Hillcrest water ad-hoc committee are going to recommend that the council vote Tuesday to connect homeowners in Hillcrest Regions 1, 2 and 3 to the water system that serves most of the city.
"In my opinion, the lowest cost, best option is to convert off of the Hillcrest system on to the surface water system," said Mayor Rory Ramirez, an ad-hoc committee member with Councilman Kash Gill.
Ramirez said he would not advocate that residents pay to fix the existing Hillcrest groundwater system purchased by the city. Upgrading the Hillcrest system would cost more money and have unknown operating costs, said Ramirez. "I'm not going to recommend that as an option," said Ramirez.
The council will decide during its regular Tuesday meeting whether to pipe city surface water to Hillcrest area residents at a monthly cost of $19.80, or $3,570 if they want to pay hookup costs all at once.
The decision may mark the beginning of the end to several months of stormy debate. But it could set in motion a flurry of new activity if opponents decide to mount a protest in advance of an Aug. 18 protest hearing at Veterans Memorial Hall. The plan could be derailed if just over half the residents oppose the surface water hookups.
Some people in the Hillcrest area have said they were ready to hook up to what they considered to be a better water supply. But a number of residents are opposed to paying for the surface water conversion.
"I think that the city is treating the residents not in a fair and equitable manner, and making them pay the entire costs for (hooking) up to surface water," said Don Kessel, a Pebble Beach Drive resident who was a member of an advisory council of residents appointed to discuss Hillcrest water issues.
But Ramirez said the issue is only controversial because some Hillcrest residents decided that someone else should pay to solve the water problems there.
If the council approves the recommendation, than the city will immediately mail a protest hearing notice and rate schedule to Hillcrest water system customers.
According to the city, Hillcrest well water contains higher arsenic and nitrate levels than surface water that comes from the Feather River. Arsenic levels in Hillcrest water have at times violated state and federal health standards. Nitrate levels in Regions 2 & 3 have resulted in a well being shut down, which means that demand for water exceeds supply, making water pressure inconsistent.
Who: Yuba City City Council
What: Recommendation to connect Hillcrest area to city surface water
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Council Chambers, 1201 Civic Center Blvd., Yuba City
Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter John Dickey at 749-4711 or jdickey@appealdemocrat.com
