News Archive

July 22 Proposal!! 

This is the update of the April 6 proposal to the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District.

The additions are printed in red. 

They take into account questions raised by District Directors at the July 18, 2011 proposal workshop that took place at the District's regular meeting that evening. 
 

Download the pdf document by clicking here.

(The free Adobe Reader software is required to read our pdf documents. Download Adobe Reader here.)


Monterey Herald, Feb. 17, 2011

Water district receives OK to form new agency. Leaders want to put
measure on November ballot

By Jim Johnson, Herald writer

"A bid to dissolve or reorganize the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District and form a new agency as part of an effort to purchase California American Water's local system can proceed under the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO). "

Read more...


Monterey Herald, Feb. 10, 2011

Water buyout bid draws crowd.

Groups push for public ownership.

By Jim Johnson, Herald writer

"More than 100 people listened to a three-person panel speak Wednesday for a bid to back the public purchase of California American Water's Monterey district system."
 

Read more...

    


Monterey County Herald Front Page,
Jan. 23, 2011

"RESIDENTS GATHER ALLIES
TO BUY CAL-AM"

Group says public ownership will bring down cost"

"Making its pitch for a public purchase of California American Water, a group of community leaders is making the rounds of local governments and public agencies on the Peninsula in search of backing for its proposal."
 

Read more...

   


 

CORE GAME PLAN FOR
CAL-AM EXPOSED

Cal-Am’s plan to crush opposition and raise prices was recently unintentionally exposed in an internationally distributed article entitled Ten Companies to Invest in Over the Next Decade.

Cal-Am is owned lock, stock and barrel by the American Water Works Company, a huge New Jersey corporation.

(View American Water's corporate revenue data here.)

AWK (as the company is listed on the New York stock exchange) in turn is heavily owned by European share holders, of whom the key ownership is German.

Read more...

    

Savings

Commentary

Monterey Herald, Jan. 5, 2012

"Local water costs continue to increase"

Guest Commentary by Ron Weitzman


Monterey Herald, Oct. 26, 2011

"Keep Cal Am out of water process."

Guest Commentary by Ron Weitzman


Monterey Herald, Sept. 17, 2011

"Cal Am pulls strings in water board vote."

Guest Commentary by Ron Weitzman


Monterey Herald, August 17, 2011

"Cal Am as an octopus"

Letter to the Editor by Claude B. Hutchison Jr.


Monterey Herald, August 18, 2011

Response to recent media coverage of water issues.

Guest Commentary by Ron Weitzman

Read the full commentary here.
 


Carmel Valley Association Newsletter

Are you willing to pay Cal-Am
3400% more for desal water?

By Ron Weitzman

"Contrary to some recently published scare rhetoric, a public agency buying Cal-Am would not delay the desal project."

Read more...


Monterey County Herald Editorial
Dec. 9, 2010

"TIME IS RIGHT TO LOOK
  AT CAL-AM TAKEOVER"

"It may not seem like it, but if there ever was a right time for residents of the Peninsula to take a serious look at a public takeover of the local California American Water operation, this is it."

Read more...


Monterey County Herald Op Ed
Jan. 20, 2011

"PUBLIC CONTROL OF WATER
  A WIN FOR ALL
"

(Guest commentary by D. Michael Langford, national president of Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO, which represents 50,000 employees in utility and related industries across the United States.)

"The Utility Workers of America – which represents the hourly employees of California American Water and 2,400 other employees of its parent company across the U.S. – enthusiastically supports proposals for public ownership of the company's Monterey operations by the local community."

Read more...



Action

The Cal Am Water Buffalo, by Ed Greco



WaterPlus
Steering Committee

Harvey Billig
(Vice President)

Claude Hutchison

Skip Keyzers

Dan Matterson

Dan Presser

Dick Rotter

George Schroeder
(Secretary-Treasurer)

Richard Stillwell

Ron Weitzman
(President)

Anna Yateman  

Read more about the
Steering Committee Members


David Loye (Waterplus Gazette Editor)

David Gordon  (Webmaster)

  The Desal Corner

THE NEW WATERPLUS
MISSION STATEMENT

Since the collapse of the regional desalination project, in which WaterPlus advocated for community control by promoting the municipalization of Cal Am, WaterPlus has expanded its mission as follows: To advocate in behalf of local Cal Am ratepayers for an adequate and affordable water supply by all reasonable means, including (its original mission) the persuasion or creation of a public agency to purchase Cal Am.

IMPLEMENTATION

To implement this new mission, WaterPlus is promoting the development of a desalination plant that will be sufficiently large to constitute a drought-proof water supply for the Monterey Peninsula, at the least possible cost to local ratepayers.

News Items, Letters, and Commentaries On Desal

Storage and recovery a bad idea
Letter to Monterey Herald
by Ron Weitzman  April 17, 2012

Outlook still grim for new water authority
Monterey Herald Guest Commentary
by Ron Weitzman  April 1, 2012

Peninsula must quickly act on water
Monterey Herald Guest Commentary
by Ron Weitzman  March 3, 2012

Desal EIR dealt blow: review failed to consider water rights, judge rules
By Jim Johnson, Monterey Herald Staff Writer  February 3, 2012

Making Water Go Public
Monterey Herald Guest Commentary
by Ron Weitzman  January 22, 2012

Cal Am quits desal project
By Jim Johnson, Monterey Herald Staff Writer  January 18, 2012

Local water costs continue to increase
Monterey Herald Guest Commentary by Ron Weitzman  January 5, 2012

It's all about water profits
Letter to Monterey Herald by Ron Weitzman  December 21, 2011

Now we're talking billions
Letter to Monterey Herald by Ron Weitzman  November 17, 2011


The Case Against Cal-Am

The private monopoly controlling the water for practically all of us in the Monterey Peninsula – Cal-Am– is now empowered to triple or quadruple your water bill – with no cap! 

No local control! 
No local ownership! 
No new water!

View the slide show that rips the lid off the Cal-Am Power Grab!

Click here to download
our new pdf flier!


BILL BATES CORNER!

Bill Bates has joined the WaterPlus Gazette staff! As many of us who knew and loved him know, Bill Bates has never left us in spirit. To underline our subhead "water for the people by the people," special for us he did the portraits of Jefferson and Franklin on our masthead. And for a reminder of all we stand to lose if the Cal-Am Calamity drives the water rates up, up, up, we’re featuring Bill’s cherished classics of Carmel life and foibles.

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