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PEBBLE BEACH CO. PROPOSAL TO SELL "ENTITLED" WATER

From the Monterey County Herald
Serving Monterey County and the Salinas Valley

September 29, 2003

L E T T E R S

At the water management district board's Sept. 15 meeting, the Pebble Beach Company proposed the sale of a portion of its "entitled water" to development projects within the Del Monte Forest as a method of funding the costs of required improvements to the Forest Reclamation Project.

The project, which began in 1994, has failed to produce the desired amount of reclaimed water for the golf courses within the forest. This proposal raises some questions that must be addressed.

Does the sale represent an inequity for those residents currently on the Cal-Am waiting list?

Does the sale of these water rights at a market price determined by the company constitute profiteering, in direct opposition to stated district policy? Will it serve to promote additional overuse at a time Cal-Am is operating at a deficiency? Will the funds from these sales be explicitly restricted to the costs of the reclamation project? Since the lead agencies for the reclamation project are public entities, and thus eligible for interest-free bonds, wouldn't that be the preferred source of funding to ensure the highest level of security?

Just asking.

Leda Jellnek
Pebble Beach