Plan approved to bring clean, affordable water to San Lucas after 14 years
Local leaders approve a plan to bring affordable water to the San Lucas community.
By Jacquelyn Quinones
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SAN LUCAS, California (KSBW) — San Lucas residents, who have been without clean drinking water for nearly 14 years, may soon see a resolution as local leaders approve a plan to bring affordable water to the community.
In the small, rural town of San Lucas, with a population of a little over 400 people, residents struggle with a basic essential: water.
They have lived without proper drinking water for over a decade, with the cost of clean drinking water being their biggest obstacle.
Now, county leaders, along with the San Lucas Water District, have a solution.
“We were able to bring in a partner CalWater to be able to be that water provider and in doing so the average monthly bill in the community is expected to be around 90 dollars but the benefit beyond that is anybody who is low-income which we know 90% of that community is will only pay about 60% of that bill so they are going to average around 50 to 60 dollars a month as a water bill that is doable,” said Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez.
County leaders say this is a huge achievement, and the community had a list of options to choose from, ultimately selecting option 4.
“There were five options on the list which included developing a new well, putting in new lines and having Cal water take over the system,” Lopez said.
According to Lopez, CalWater has not agreed to be a partner yet, but they are highly interested.
They hope to propose a cost estimate that CalWater will accept.
“I’ve heard an estimate of about 15 million dollars in order to fix the system to a point where Cal water would accept it,” Lopez said.
Now, county leaders are entering into the negotiation process to drive it forward.
“But the positive thing after all these years is that there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel. I’m hoping we don’t hit fifteen years that we start providing clean drinking water as soon as possible,” Lopez said.
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren is a part of this effort and wants to help. In a statement, she said, “I was proud to secure nearly $1 million for the San Lucas Clean Drinking Water Project last year. That funding is helping develop and design the project, which will ensure that San Lucas residents have clean, reliable water.” Congresswoman Lofgren will also be requesting more funding, an additional $3.7 million, to help with the construction process.
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