Walton water pricey

A glass of water that meets federal standards won’t be cheap for the 3,000 or so Walton-area homes using groundwater from a treatment plant.

Yuba City officials Tuesday put the price tag of converting to city surface water from the Feather River at $5,800 per home.

If residents choose instead to make repairs to the ground water system, that will be even more costly, adding up to $7,460 per home.

Residents without a water meter can add another $500 to the bill which could be paid in cash, as part of a monthly water bill, or as an assessment that shows up on property tax bills, if a district was formed.

Those figures work out to an annual payment of anywhere from $410 to $715 over 20 years, depending on whether the city gets a low-interest loan from the state and on which type of water residents decide on.

Costs were released at a community meeting at the Yuba City Moose Lodge, which was provided at no charge to the city. More than 100 residents packed the hall.

City officials say the need to fix the water system is prompted by new rules from the Environmental Protection Agency. Standards for the amount of arsenic allowed in drinking water were lowered from 50 parts per billion to 10 ppb.

“The water quality didn’t change - the regulations changed,” Utilities Director Bill Lewis said in an interview.

Residents are getting groundwater that averages 14.6 ppb, according to a city report.

Excessive nitrates are also a problem for one groundwater well that supplied extra water during summer. The state Department of Health Services ordered the city to take the well out of service.

“By losing that well, we no longer have enough water to meet their needs,” said Lewis.

Some residents may find the bill harder to swallow than the arsenic.

Dorian Kittrell, 44, of Littlejohn Road, figured infrastructure costs money. And he’ll get plenty of years of better water - though he faces costs of as much as $14,000 for his two lots.

But the older neighborhood is filled with aging residents who may struggle with the bill, worried Kittrell.

“I just feel sorry for all these elderly people, I really do,” said Kittrell.

The city is looking for a decision in September on whether to fix the former Hillcrest Water Co. groundwater plant or hook up to city surface water. The payment method has to be figured out by December.

Appeal-Democrat reporter John Dickey can be reached at 749-4711. You may e-mail him at jdickey@appealdemocrat.com.