Water worth $1.25 million per year

What can be done with the city's expensive 'impulse purchase?'

Have you ever bought something without a real plan as to how to use it?

You know, that impulse purchase — the duck on a stick that looks like it runs when the wind blows that you bought at a craft fair.

We've all done it and generally it works out with little damage to our wallet. What if the price was, however, very high and all you could do was watch your money float away, literally?

Well, our city council made one of those purchases and they still don't have a solution. As has been reported, in 2003 Lodi began paying $1.2 million per year to the Woodbridge Irrigation District (WID) for 6,000 acre-feet of water per year — a lot of water. The agreement with WID is for 40 years, a very long time but not forever.

Now, when our city council reached that agreement, they had no idea where they were going to put that water or how they were going to use it. I don't know about you, but that ranks very high on my list of bad decisions, but that is water under the bridge, so we need to let it go. We cannot complain about that decision; we need to get a solution.

The good news is that WID has allowed Lodi to bank the unused water. In other words, the water has not just flowed over the Woodbridge Dam and the money has not yet been lost, but that time may come to an end in 2011 when the banked water will begin flowing past us, along with our $1.2 million.

Our city council has voted to build a water treatment plant next to Lodi Lake to treat this water so we can all drink it. Sounds like a great idea, but there is one detail that needs to be worked out — the funding for the plant.

The water treatment plant is estimated to cost more than $40 million. At this point I would suggest that you reach around and grab your wallet, because there is no plan on how this $40 million will be raised. Originally, it was supposed to be paid for by new development. The reality is that development just isn't happening, so they won't be paying. So, how will we pay the $40 million?

If we assume there are 25,000 water customers (households and businesses) in Lodi, that works out to $1,600 each, and that doesn't include the $1.2 million per year for the water. I told you, grab your wallet.

So, what are we going to do?

First, we need to find a way to use the water before we lose it and before the plant is built. As I understand it, our public works department, led by Wally Sandelin, is working on a way to use some of the water for irrigation throughout Lodi. I think this is a great idea, as it will keep us from using our precious well water to keep the grass green.

I think, as others have suggested, that until the plant is built we should try to recharge our water table. As others have suggested, let's pump the water into one or more of our basins and see if it helps. After all, what do we have to lose that we won't lose anyway?

Second, we have to be realistic about the funding for the plant, and I don't like the idea of adding another fee to my water bill. With that said, we cannot live without water, so we need to pay for it. I have suggested and will suggest again that a local sales tax increase be placed on the ballot to pay for this. The increase would be 0.25 percent, from 7.75 percent to 8.00 percent, and would last only until construction is funded, probably 15 to 20 years. Yes, I am suggesting that you get to vote on it rather than get a rate increase placed on your bill.

Our city council put us in this long-term mess and it is up to them to find a solution. I hope in this campaign season where two city council members will be elected that all candidates discuss this water issue and that each of them provide a solution.

John Johnson, CFA is a Lodi-based business appraiser. You can reach Mr. Johnson at john@johnejohnson.com or at (209) 369-1451.