A drone shot of the Cayucos Water Treatment Plant. Photo via cayucossanitarydistrict.gov.
Cayucos’ water treatment plant is in good enough shape to continue giving the town drinking water for an additional 30 years, according to an agreement recently approved by County Supervisors.
Back in December, Supervisors were asked to extend an operating agreement between County Services Area 10A (CSA 10A), the County’s water agency for south Cayucos and the privately owned Morro Rock Mutual Water Company and Cayucos Beach Mutual Water Company, the two companies that serve the residential areas on the north end of town.
Paso Robles Beach Mutual serves the residential areas west of Ocean Avenue up to 24th Street Beach including Downtown Cayucos.
Whale Rock Mutual serves the residential neighborhood east of Ocean Avenue roughly from 13th Street to Cayucos Drive.
CSA 10A serves the entirety of southern Cayucos from 24th Street Beach down on both sides of Hwy 1. The Cayucos Cemetery is its own separate water district.
The three purveyors had operated separately for many years pulling groundwater out from wells, until 1996 when the County completed a treatment plant located below Whale Rock Reservoir.
The three reached the first agreement in 1996, a 30-year pact that changed where the town’s drinking water was sourced and treated.
Now all the water, over 500-acre feet a year, is drawn directly from the reservoir and fully treated in the reverse-osmosis plant. There are also some wells still in use.
The two private companies and the CSA 10A deliver the treated water to their customers through individual, metered delivery systems. Each is responsible for any required testing and reporting to the Regional Water Quality Control Board, which licenses and regulates municipal water systems and each is responsible for maintenance and repairs to its delivery system.
With the original agreement about to expire in 2025, the three sought to extend it another 30 years, after concluding that the plant is in good shape and well maintained and capable of operating for the extended time.
“The plant is in excellent condition,” reads a report from County Public Works, which operates the treatment plant, “and has undergone regular replacements, preventative maintenance and modernization upgrades, including:
• Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filter unit replacement (completed in 2007);
• Filter recoating (2021);
• Filter media replacement (2023); and,
• Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and electrical system upgrades (2013–2020).”
The County is also planning to repair the roof of the main holding tank at the plant sometime this year.
“These needed repairs will protect and extend the life of the plant’s critical infrastructure assets, supporting continued reliable service for at least the next 30 years.
“County staff are committed to the long-term reliability and sustainability of the treatment plant through ongoing evaluation and preventative maintenance efforts,” the report said.
With these assurances in hand, the three purveyors have now voted to extend the agreement through the end of 2055.
“Extending the agreement,” the report said, “ensures continued operation of the CSA 10 Water Treatment Plant to provide safe drinking water for Cayucos residents, supporting long-term community health and sustainability.”
No changes to the water rates came out of the contract extension, however, many Cayucos residents of CSA 10A have been very concerned about a significant rate hike that is being worked on by the County.
The Cayucos Citizens Advisory Council has been told by County officials that they are working on a rate hike for later this year to tackle a new list of needed projects with the water system. The proposed hike is believed to be some 25%.
The CCAC is expected to be presented with the proposal at an upcoming meeting, which must also be approved by Supervisors and put to a protest vote under Prop. 218.
One citizen told Estero Bay News that he and a number of other CSA 10A customers plan to push for a full town hall meeting to discuss the rate hike.
So far, EBN has not seen any official proposals coming out of Public Works, but the CCAC has been told the County is working on it.
A Jan. 7 County report to the CCAC read, “Staff have prepared a rate study for CSA 10A that will identify revenue needs and provide a funding plan to address increases in capital project costs and ongoing operations and maintenance costs.
“Staff are working to schedule a meeting with the CSA 10A Committee to go over the results of the rate study.
“The final rate study and proposed rate increase, considering the Committee’s comments, will be presented at a future CCAC meeting. Staff are working to schedule the required Proposition 218 proceedings including noticing and public hearing.”
Such rate hikes normally come with a laundry list of maintenance projects needed for the delivery system to function.
Under Prop. 218, if over 50% of the CSA 10A customers protest in writing, the County cannot approve the rate hike.
Normally such rate hikes are voted upon by whoever’s name appears on the water bills (the property owners in the case of property tax hikes), which means a renter could cast a parcel’s vote if water bills are in their name.
Cayucos is in a somewhat unique predicament, with many homes being used as short-term vacation rentals or vacation homes for families who don’t live here full time.
It’s unclear what affect CSA 10A’s rate increase will have on customers of the two mutual water companies, as the new operating agreement states the treatment plant is in good condition and that plant is the only facility used by all three.
