The Sheep Creek Water Company Board of Directors met again last Tuesday, July 18. Probably the most important part of the meeting didn’t actually happen – a representative from Central States Water Resources was scheduled to attend the meeting for a presentation, but bad weather in the midwest prevented that. The representative asked if the meeting could happen over Zoom, but since the Board of Directors suspended use of Zoom along with other changes that limit shareholder participation in the meetings, the presentation had to be postponed. The presentation is now scheduled for the next board meeting on August 15.
According to their website, Central States Water Resources (CSWR) “is parent company to 16 utility operating companies across 11 states.” The corporate headquarters is located in Des Peres, Missouri. CSWR owns subsidiaries in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Luoisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. CSWR does not currently own any subsidiaries in California.
CSWR is a private, investor-owned, regulated water utility company with a national footprint across 11 states. In fact, CSWR is the 11th largest water and wastewater utility company, and the single largest operator of wastewater plants in the United States.
I believe it would be an absolute disaster for the community if Sheep Creek Water Company was sold to this out-of-state conglomeration.
In other news from the evening, the board approved a $4,800 quote to install 27 feet of 6′ chainlink fence around Well 8, along with installing several gates that SCWC will provide. It’s a mystery why it’s going to cost $4800 to install 27 feet of fencing plus some gates. Home Depot has 50 feet of 6′ fencing available for pickup in Victorville for $138 plus tax. Maybe someone smarter than me can figure out why shareholders are paying around $4500 in labor costs for this installation.
At the annual meeting director Kellie Williams had mentioned she wanted to upgrade the billing infrastructure. At the board meeting it was reported that Sheep Creek has only found one company that might be able to provide a billing system, and they aren’t sure yet that it will be compatible with our water allocation by share. Hopefully they will find some other possibilities.
It was reported the company might receive a grant to purchase a new tractor.
There was also discussion about reviewing and raising the cost of meters to match the charges by other utilities and water companies in the area. So far this year, the company has produced 246.64 acre feet of water, of which 53.19 acre feet has been “lost” or not charged through meters. The EPA estimates that nationally water companies average 14% water loss, but so far this year Sheep Creek has lost more than 21% of the water the company has produced. Hopefully if meter costs are going to go up, the company will also invest in the infrastructure other companies use to help maximize water efficiency and minimize water loss.
Finally, the GM reported on the situation with the new well. Pilot hole for the well is drilled to 1920 feet. Thy had to dig so deep because precursors for Chromium 6 were found at higher levels, so had to dig well below there to get “potable” water. The ream hole, which is where they will put the casing, is currently drilled to ~500 feet. The rig was down for a bit, but they have got it working again in the last few days – although I can report that my ears tell me the rig has been up and down over the past week, though it is working now as I write this. They have done some test pumping that went well, but don’t know exactly what the well will produce. A hydrogeologist is guessing it will fall somewhere between 115 gallons per minute and 375 gallons per minute. We won’t know how this well impacts the compliance order until they finish it, then present the final details to the state. That’s when we find out if we need to keep digging wells.