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One Water Board To Rule It All? County Leaders Discuss Super Agency

Posted on: Thursday, 13 April 2006, 09:00 CDT

By Kevin Howe, The Monterey County Herald, Calif.

Apr. 13--Leaders throughout Monterey County are considering creating a super board that would oversee one of the region's most pressing issues: water.

Discussion of forming a Monterey Bay Regional Water Authority has been ongoing since last year, officials said, and Monday representatives from eight cities, the county, the Army and eight special districts met to discuss details for the super agency.

"Every entity participated," said Dave Berger, general manager of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District.

Officials who participated said they believe the new agency would help coordinate and plan various water supply projects being pursued, including water recycling projects, desalination and conjunctive use projects. They also discussed how various agencies could provide in-kind services, as well as funding.

On Wednesday, the Marina Coast Water District board met to discuss a resolution of participation and to name a delegate to such an agency.

City managers and water and wastewater district managers have held a series of meetings on the issue to determine whether forming a regional water authority would focus efforts on the Peninsula's long-standing water shortage, said Mark Lucca, interim general manager of the Marina Coast district.

One setback, officials said, has been the loss of what would have been $250,000 in seed money from the county to set up the regional authority as a joint powers agency.

The county's financial woes over Natividad Medical Center have precluded that funding, said Monterey City Manager Fred Meurer.

"We were moving to form a joint powers agency and then the county budget got in the way," he said, "because they were going to fund it and backed off."

Now the various agencies involved are looking at operating under a memorandum of understanding.

The water problem "is regionwide," Meurer said, "like the sewer problem was 25 years ago, and it's going to take a similar regionwide cooperative effort to really come up with the best solution."

He said city managers and the county administrative officer have been asked to report back in 30 days whether their cities or agencies are willing to support the process and come up with funding.

"The good news is that there is interest in doing something," said Monterey Mayor Dan Albert.

"Everybody's all over the map" on water issues, he said. "Somewhere along the line, this should be coordinated."

Participants for the proposed agency include the cities of Carmel, Del Rey Oaks, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Sand City, Seaside, Salinas and Marina, as well as delegates from the county Board of Supervisors, Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, Presidio of Monterey, Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency, Marina Coast Water District, Castroville Water District, Fort Ord Reuse Authority, Pajaro-Sunny Mesa Community Services District, Monterey County Water Resources Agency and the Moss Landing Harbor District.

herald.com.

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Herald question of the day Does the Peninsula need another water agency? o Yes |o No | o No opinion Go to: montereyherald.com to place your vote Herald surveys are unscientific

Kevin Howe can be reached at 646-4416 or khowe@monterey

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Monterey County Herald, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The Monterey County Herald (Monterey, Calif.)

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