Santa Ana officials are gearing up to start turning off what could be thousands of residents’ water supply who are behind on their water bills.
Officials on Tuesday night took a key step by amending their local ordinance on shut-offs because a state law requires more public notice and twice as long a period before a supplier can turn off a household’s water supply and allows for appeals.
The previous city law only required 30 days’ notice before officials could shut off water services for families not currently on their water bill.
Why Now?
City officials argue that the cost to supply water to over 45,000 customers across nearly 500 miles of pipelines across Santa Ana keeps going up, suggesting that water be turned off on residents that are behind.
Since 2020, city officials have not taken such enforcement action, tapping millions in state and federal funds that are now running out to help thousands of families stay up to date on their water utility bills.
“As a result of emergency state and local moratoriums on water shutoffs expiring,” notes a recent staff report, “The City seeks to resume water shutoffs for nonpayment.”
The vote comes after officials warn that the city is headed to a looming sales tax cliff and as COVID bailout dollars start to run out.
[Read: Santa Ana Leaders Warn Looming Sales Tax Cliff Could Tear Up Public Services]
It also comes after elected officials held a discussion about doubling street sweeping fees in the city earlier this year.
What Are Officials Saying?
Yet on Tuesday night, council members barely said anything in public about the issue at all.
One resident emailed the council arguing that city officials should knock on people’s doors before they shut their water off.
“Should any residents be subject to water shutoff once the ordinance is adopted, I ask that City staff go door knocking and notices mailed to ensure that any residences are well informed ahead of water shutoffs due to non-payment,” the resident wrote.
“I know that rising costs of living since the pandemic are causing strain for hard working families and where expiration of state and federal funds may be terminating soon, affected residents in our city deserve, at minimum, as much notice as possible before negative actions occur.”
Councilwoman Jessie Lopez – the only council member to ask a public question – asked if the city would notify residents who are facing a water shutoff and if the city would notify residents about the change through social media.
Staff said they would.
Lopez added that she supported complying with state law, something that Councilman Johnathan Hernandez seconded.
What Does California Require Before Water Shutoffs?
In 2018, state legislators adopted SB 998 – dubbed the Water Shutoff Protection Act – that aimed to provide more protections from shutoffs for people who haven’t paid their water bills.
These protections include having a written policy for discontinuing water services posted online and forbidding the provider from turning off a household’s water supply for delinquency for 60 days.
Shortly after the law went into effect, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order in April 2020 that temporarily banned water shutoffs for residents who didn’t pay their bills because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That moratorium came to an end at the start of 2022.
How Have City Officials Covered Water Bills?
Meanwhile, the city has made use of assistance programs financed by state and federal funds like the California Extended Water and Wastewater Arrearage Payment Program and California Low Income Household Water Assistance Program to help cover unpaid water bills.
A city staff report on the shutoffs was unclear how many people in Santa Ana are behind on their water bills but noted the assistance programs were used by thousands of residents.
The city has received close to $1.2 million in funds from the payment program helping cover the utility bills for 2,700 residents and commercial businesses in Santa Ana, according to a staff report.
The State Water Resources Control Board approved a $1.8 million extension for that program in Santa Ana in March that staff say will help thousands more.
Through the low income household program, the city has helped 400 residents with over $500,000 in assistance to help manage water utility bills.
The city has also used federal COVID bailout dollars to launch utility assistance grants designed to help families impacted by the pandemic cover past due utility bills.
According to a staff report, the grant program has helped over 1,800 families with a little less than $1 million in assistance.
The ordinance is expected to return to council on June 4th for a final vote and would go into effect in July.
The city would begin delinquency notices in August.
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.
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