Pico Water District

Residents in the northern part of the city will have higher water bills beginning this month as a result of a 15% rate increase by the Pico Water District. The increase means the average monthly water bill will be about $1.86 higher after Jan. 1, according to Hal Maupin, general manager of the district, which serves 21,000 homes here. Maupin said the increase was needed to raise $1.2 million to pay for replacing 39 miles of pipe.

It has cast its long shadow over Pico Rivera for decades, but now the town's oldest water tower is coming down. After four years of debate, the Pico Water District board voted last week to demolish the rusty 110-foot tower, erected in 1926, rather than pay to fix it. Officially, the steel structure hasn't been designated a landmark, but the local historical society at one point tried to keep it standing.

The City Council has moved to consolidate water service by asking for a merger of the Pico Water District and the city's Water Department. In the merger application to the Local Agency Formation Commission, the city said the action would improve water service, end duplication of water mains in some areas and increase domestic water pressure.

Pico Rivera's water board has decided it gave itself too much credit. Concerns that Pico Water District board members were abusing their district-issued credit cards recently prompted the board to snip the privilege once and for all. "[Board members] felt that the expenditures on the credit cards were running a little bit too high," said district General Manager Joseph Dermody.

Officials for Pico Rivera and the Pico Water District have signed an agreement to interconnect their water systems so residents living in the northern part of the city will receive better service. The City Council voted Monday to pay the water district, an independent company operating in the heart of Pico Rivera, about $50,000 to hook into one of the district's wells located near Beverly Boulevard and Durfee Avenue.

Tight water supplies are threatening to drive up the price of progress in parts of Pico Rivera, and city officials are concerned. A water district serving part of the city has decided to force developers to buy water rights for their projects before the district will hook up their water supplies. "There's only so much water that we have," said Harold W. Maupin, general manager of the Pico Water District. "We just don't have it." The new rule has created a stir at City Hall.

It has cast its long shadow over Pico Rivera for decades, but now the town's oldest water tower is coming down. After four years of debate, the Pico Water District board voted last week to demolish the rusty 110-foot tower, erected in 1926, rather than pay to fix it. Officially, the steel structure hasn't been designated a landmark, but the local historical society at one point tried to keep it standing.

Pico Rivera Water Development Corp. has completed the sale of $6 million in bonds. The leasehold mortgage bonds were sold at a rate of 8%. Proceeds of the bond sale will be used to dig a new well that will improve water pressure in the northern end of the city and to replace old and undersized pipelines throughout the city, City Manager Dennis Courtemarche said. The improvements will take about three years to complete, he said. Pico Rivera Water Development Corp.

Burdened with aging water pipes and a costly new well that hardly works, city officials have decided to end an old feud and ask the Pico Water District for help in improving the city's water system. After twice threatening to take steps to merge with the district during the last decade, the city has agreed to leave the district alone and pay it for the use of two wells.

A hopeful Fred L. Silva took a stapler from the pocket of his brown slacks and, beneath a huge electrical tower, put up a campaign poster on a dirt corner in Pico Rivera. "Nothing is glamorous about it," said Silva, 55, referring to the Pico Water District election, which, as it would turn out, he would win along with incumbent Michael E. Mendoza. Excitement was not rampant on Monday morning, the day before the election.

Tight water supplies are threatening to drive up the price of progress in parts of Pico Rivera, and city officials are concerned. A water district serving part of the city has decided to force developers to buy water rights for their projects before the district will hook up their water supplies. "There's only so much water that we have," said Harold W. Maupin, general manager of the Pico Water District. "We just don't have it." The new rule has created a stir at City Hall.

A hopeful Fred L. Silva took a stapler from the pocket of his brown slacks and, beneath a huge electrical tower, put up a campaign poster on a dirt corner in Pico Rivera. "Nothing is glamorous about it," said Silva, 55, referring to the Pico Water District election, which, as it would turn out, he would win along with incumbent Michael E. Mendoza. Excitement was not rampant on Monday morning, the day before the election.

Despite the cooler summer and calls for strict conservation and an overall water-saving trend, three Southeast-area water companies increased the amount of water they passed on to customers last month compared to June, 1990.

Officials for Pico Rivera and the Pico Water District have signed an agreement to interconnect their water systems so residents living in the northern part of the city will receive better service. The City Council voted Monday to pay the water district, an independent company operating in the heart of Pico Rivera, about $50,000 to hook into one of the district's wells located near Beverly Boulevard and Durfee Avenue.

Burdened with aging water pipes and a costly new well that hardly works, city officials have decided to end an old feud and ask the Pico Water District for help in improving the city's water system. After twice threatening to take steps to merge with the district during the last decade, the city has agreed to leave the district alone and pay it for the use of two wells.

The City Council has moved to consolidate water service by asking for a merger of the Pico Water District and the city's Water Department. In the merger application to the Local Agency Formation Commission, the city said the action would improve water service, end duplication of water mains in some areas and increase domestic water pressure.

Pico Rivera's water board has decided it gave itself too much credit. Concerns that Pico Water District board members were abusing their district-issued credit cards recently prompted the board to snip the privilege once and for all. "[Board members] felt that the expenditures on the credit cards were running a little bit too high," said district General Manager Joseph Dermody.

Despite the cooler summer and calls for strict conservation and an overall water-saving trend, three Southeast-area water companies increased the amount of water they passed on to customers last month compared to June, 1990.

Pico Rivera Water Development Corp. has completed the sale of $6 million in bonds. The leasehold mortgage bonds were sold at a rate of 8%. Proceeds of the bond sale will be used to dig a new well that will improve water pressure in the northern end of the city and to replace old and undersized pipelines throughout the city, City Manager Dennis Courtemarche said. The improvements will take about three years to complete, he said. Pico Rivera Water Development Corp.

It's no secret that the city's water system is old. In fact, some people joke that the only thing older is the city's water table, which was formed thousands of years ago and is the primary source of water for Pico Rivera's 54,000 residents. But in recent years, the punch line has been anything but funny for residents like Sebastian Vasquez. "When I water the lawn the pressure drops in half," Vasquez said as he sprinkled his front lawn at the corner of Beverly Boulevard and Lindell Avenue.