California Water News Daily Your Source For Water News in California
A rural enclave of 140 homes in central Riverside County finally have a new water system to provide safe and dependable water after years of a problematic and unreliable water source. Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) recently began providing water service to the former customers of the now-defunct, private and for-profit County Water Company of Riverside.
The service formerly provided to the homes in Menifee was often unreliable with sustained outages and the delivered water was laden with nitrate levels significantly above the drinking water standards set forth by both federal and state regulatory agencies. EMWD, along with Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, collaborated and developed plans for EMWD to become the water provider for the 140 homes. This included the construction of a new water system and legislation to protect the public agencies that took action on behalf of the homeowners in the area. The County of Riverside served as the intermediary for the years-long process.
The California Department of Public Health provided a $6.5 million grant to fund new infrastructure, annexation into The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California service area and connection fees for the 140 homes. Since November 2014, the area has been receiving a safe and reliable water supply through a temporary infrastructure.
Legislation (SB 1130) by State Senator Richard Roth (D-31st District-Riverside), backed by Assembly Member Melissa Melendez (R-67th District- Murrieta), was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2014. It provides immunity to the public agencies involved from lawsuits filed by County of Water Company of Riverside customers for any action which was a result of the prior owners and operators of the system. The legislation also protects other ratepayers from the costs associated with potential lawsuits.
“This has been a long process, but an important one for the residents of this community,” EMWD General Manager Paul Jones said. “We sincerely appreciate both the patience of the County Water Company customers and the partnership of all of the public agencies that have helped bring this process to completion. EMWD looks forward to serving our newest customers and we would like to personally welcome them to EMWD.”
As of April 11, 2017, EMWD’s portion of construction is complete and is assuming full responsibility of the system and billing of its customers. With support of Riverside County Supervisor Kevin Jeffries, the county has acted as the legal receiver of the process through the transition period. The Riverside County Economic Development Agency has been billing customers throughout the transition.
“This is a landmark moment for these residents and one in which we are proud to have taken an active role in,” said EMWD Board Member Ron Sullivan, who represents the area. “Because of the efforts of all involved, the residents of this community will now have access to a safe and reliable water supply for generations to come.”
