Cambrian letters to the editor, June 29, 2017

Plant has produced a lot of water

Melvin Dorin’s June 8 letter to The Cambrian erroneously claims that the Sustainable Water Facility “has never provided a single drop of potable water to the town water supply.”

In fact, the SWF has produced quite a lot of water — 68.92 acre-feet in 2015 and 23.07 acre-feet in 2016, for a two-year total of 91.99 acre-feet. These annual figures are from the water production report included in each regular CCSD agenda.

As to Dorin’s assertion that Cambria made it through the drought “solely” through conservation, he ignores the fact that the drought did not end in 2014, and that the SWF did play a significant role in getting us through the following year, which, coming as it did after three dry years, may have been the worst one of all.

He also apparently believes that most Cambrians would be perfectly happy in the future to put up with the severe limits on water use, including some stratospheric surcharges, that they endured in 2014 before the SWF went on line.

Water hook-ups would benefit all

Since the water levels have been restored, I believe that the CCSD should begin issuing permits with intent-to-serve water and sewer service systematically to allow the lot owners to begin building. The plan should allow at least the small number of hook-ups that were allowed prior to the moratorium. This would benefit not only the lot owners, who have been on hold for 16 years, but also current residents.

Case in point is the concern by letter writer Nancy Mourn, June 1.She pointed out that current homes are surrounded by undeveloped land. Allowing the non-native thistles and 3-foot-tall grass to rapidly multiply.

If there had not been a moratorium, much of this land would be occupied by owners, thus reducing the fire hazard.

The lot owners are not smug or speculators, but are people who are prevented from building and living their dream in Cambria.

As for my part I have done the following:

I purchased two lots to ensure that there would be good space between me and my neighbors. Last year, I took immediate action when two trees were threatening my neighbor’s homes and paid overtime for their removal. For the past 16 years, I have paid a bonded, licensed and insured landscape contractor to perform weed abatement.

Had the moratorium not occurred, those on the wait list would have built and there would be less undeveloped land in the residential areas. We would be part of the solution to the issues facing Cambria today and in the future.

MacKinnon piece on plant unfair

Allan MacKinnon’s viewpoint article in the June 15 edition of The Cambrian is the latest in a parade of purported horribles unfairly spread by the vocal minority to discredit the Sustainable Water Facility as either unproductive, excessively expensive or both.

The article is misplaced in several respects. First, it seems to assume that the SWF will operate throughout the year. That is not the plan and never has been; the SWF is designed to operate during dry summer months to supplement water supplies from our two natural aquifers.

Second, the article exaggerates the additional capital and operating costs associated with the facility. Even taken in isolation, the SWF costs are not $20 per unit but actually closer to $13. However, even in a drought, the SWF will not be Cambria’s primary source of water. Most water will continue to come from much cheaper natural sources, with SWF water as a supplement. The blended per-unit rates will likely be far less than those predicted by MacKinnon.

It is indisputable that the cost to produce processed water is higher than pumping water from natural aquifers. That brings me to MacKinnon’s final paragraph, where he demands that the CCSD explain plans for issuing intent-to-serve letters, new water meters, etc., implying that any growth in the number of CCSD customers is a bad thing. To the contrary, modest and controlled expansion of CCSD’s paying customer base is a good thing, especially in its effect on water rates. A reasonable increase of CCSD ratepayers over an extended period will spread the costs to produce and deliver water among a greater pool, thus reducing rates for all of us.

Thanks for gifts to Coast Union

I want to publicly thank Patricia Heineman for her generous gifts to the Coast Union High School media graphics department and the Unitarian Universalist Community of Cambria. Her donations came about due to the very unfortunate loss this past spring of her son Richard, who was an avid audiophile.

The school received several graphic and parametric equalizers that will be incorporated in the students’ video production efforts while UUCC’s audio/visual department received a pair of quality speakers to be used for concerts and films on site.

Again, our heartfelt thanks for these generous donations.

This story was originally published June 28, 2017 at 8:25 AM with the headline "Cambrian letters to the editor, June 29, 2017."