20160818Comment.pdf

Jean Jewell
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
From: PATSY DAARUD
secretary
Wednesday, August 17, 2016 10:42 PM
Jean Jewell; Diane Holt
FW: case number MNV-W-16-01
Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2016 10:42:11 PM (UTC-07:00) Mountain Time (US & Canada)
To: secretary
Subject: case number MNV-W-16-01
Patsy Daarud
193 N 3950 E
Rigby, Idaho 83442
This letter is in regards to case #MNV -W -16-01.
My huaband and I moved into Morning View subdivlision October 6, 2015.
One of the things that attracted us to this subdivision is how nice most peoples yards looked. Everything looked
well taken care of. Now with the proposed increase charges for water usage, I am hearing of quite a few people
threatening to let their lawns burn up. This really saddens me. We have spent a lot of time and money planting
flowers, and making and keeping our lawn looking nice, but really, with this big of an Increase, what other
choice do we have? As with most of our neighbors, we live on a pretty tight budget. Where does the extra
money needed for the water bill come from? The only flexible expense is groceries. So are we supposed to go
hungry just to afford water?
We wouldn't even be able to afford to grow our own produce if the increase goes through. I've also heard that if
this increase goes through, families will start trying to move. So will they be able to sell their homes when
propsed buyers find out how much water costs? If people start leaving and nobody else comes in, what then?
Will the price for water triple? I really don't think a necessity should cost so much. It definitely should not cost
more than a luxury such as cable or internet. To pay $81.88 is absolutely ridiculous, especially for the quality
of water we have. We have low water pressure, air in the lines, and there is a smell to it. The other day, I was
home alone and turned on the kitchen faucet. The water pressure seemed pretty low and there was no water
running anywhere else.
Also, I received our water usage data. While it was meant to satisfy our curiosity, I'm not sure where the
numbers came from. It shows over 400,000 gallons for the months of July and August, before we moved in. For
September it shows 108,860 gallons. In October, when we moved in, it dropped down to 88,540 gallons.
December through March were pretty close to 5000 gallons, but then in April, it plummeted to 44,150 gallons.
In June, it shows 137,430 gallons. What seems fishy to me, is first of all, we are told by other neighbors that
have been here for awhile, that the meters were not put in until October, or at least not before August. Secondly,
our home was vacant the whole month of September and even at least part of August. I don't think the lawn was
being watered in September, so how did almost 109,000 gallons get used? How does someone use almost a half
a million gallons as mentioned for July and August? We didn't start watering our lawn until the end of May,
then it was only ooccasionally that we did, so how did we use 44,000 gallons in April and 62,770 gallons in
May? My husband performed an experiment. He took 2 hoses and put them into (2) 5 gallon buckets. He could
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not get 10 gallons in a minute. Based on 10 gallons a minute, 20 hours a day, 30 days a month, we came up with
a figure of 36,000 gallons a month. The usage data shows more than triple that amount.
One last thing. If a new well house and upgrades to the othet 2 well houses cost $104,452, what was the half a
million dollar loan for and why do we as customers have to pay for it? When we took out a business loan, we
payed for it and not our customers. Right now everyone is paying a $5 surcharge every month that I understand
is supposed to be for maintenance, so where has that been going?
Please do not raise the rates. People in this community cannot afford it.
Thank you
Patsy Daarud
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