Customer protest leads STPUD to change policy
By Kathryn Reed
The Angora Fire of 2007 continues to alter how entities in the Lake Tahoe Basin do business.
No longer do owners of vacant lots where houses once stood have to pay for water and sewer when they aren’t using either.
The Angora Fire continues to shape policy in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Photo/Kathryn Reed
An owner of a lot protested the continued fees. It brought about change this month by the South Tahoe Public Utility District board.
About 75 of the 254 lots that lost a house are still empty. But the owners kept getting STPUD bills. The board modified the regulation so the owner still has the water hookup and won’t have to pay for that again.
In the past when a house burned down South Tahoe PUD would suspend fees for two quarters. The thinking is in most structure fires people rebuild immediately. With something like a massive wildfire, not everyone rebuilds immediately, if ever.
It is customary for people with vacant lots that have never been built on to not pay any sewer-water fees until the connection is made. Water is turned on per fire codes when building begins. Sewer hookup is part of the final phase.
With quarterly sewer-water bills for STPUD about $200 per residence, this change in policy affecting the burn area will save those property owners a good deal of money going forward.
I can’t wait for all the second homeowners who only visit Tahoe once a year to start complaining about subsidizing locals and want their charges waived because they don’t use the services year-round! Rate increase for locals? Probably. You get what you wish for.
Kudos to STPUD for not charging Angora Fire Victims water fees on vacant lots.
This story was about the Angora victims and I agree with STPUD’s decision.
Il – Do you suppose second homeowners have not complained? Most residential customers have paid flat rate for years.
Change is coming and it has nothing to do with second homeowner complaints. You should probably read up on the state mandate for all water districts to have metered water by 2025. STPUD has informed us of the imminent change and how it will impact our quarterly charges. Our days of subsidized water are coming to an end. Start saving now!
2025 is a long way away, and the mandate may not matter if the U.S. gov. enforces the law for water flows to the carson river provided by STPUD. These flows must meet what was agreed to, via the 1990 settlement and the latter orerating agreement with the users of that water. If flows do not meet these requirements STPUD must replace it i.e. buy it. Also current agreements between CA. and NV., limit the usage of water to 16,000 acre ft. for the CA. side of the basin. As a side note, all water usage in the Tahoe basin ends up in NV. not in CA.