An Overview of the Successful Public Purchase of the Felton Water System
In 2008, at the request of Felton households, the San Lorenzo Valley Water District purchased the Felton water system from California American Water. American Water and other companies have tried to distort this successful public purchase to undermine other local buyout efforts. Communities should not heed these corporate scare tactics. Felton has benefited from local, public control of its water services.
Public ownership saved a Felton household about 30 percent, or $500, in 2011. A typical Felton household’s actual water costs were about $94 a month — $49 for eight ccfs of water and $45 in special taxes to pay for the system purchase. California American Water had sought to make Felton households pay about $135 a month for the same amount of water that year.4 Although the district has increased rates to pay for system improvements, including necessary upgrades to Felton’s water system, overall, rates increased by much less than what the company proposed.