It was reported in the local paper that CWLP has asked the city council to double the water rates in as short as a year and a half to pay for a new water pumping station. They say the current pump is 70 years old and in very bad shape. I’ll take their word for it, but double the rates??
I have a few questions.
1) We are currently building a new power plant, could this wait until that is completed in a few years? How much will repair costs for maintenance on this old pump to keep it going? How much to fix if it dies? In the article they mention skyrocketing steel prices as a motivation for doing the construction now, but can it wait another couple years?
2) This pump has been around for 70 years – it has been getting older every day. Why is it now an emergency, versus say 2 years ago? A 68 year old pump is almost as old as a 70 year old pump.
3) If it just HAS to be done, how about these rate increases being temporary?
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