How about personal "infastructure problems"

[RECHRGD]

I don't want to hijack Brock's thread, but, on a somewhat related matter--------Those of us that choose to live in a rural environment, usually rely on our own water and sewage systems without the help of the county or state in the building or maintenance of those systems.  We like it that way.  I live in Northeastern Washington state on 45 treed acres.  I have a 350 foot deep well in solid rock that could be sourced from as far away as the Canadian Rockies, but who knows.  Permit fees were paid to the County for the installation of these systems.  A couple of years ago the County started making noises about putting meters on some private wells to see what amount of water may be being drawn from the Little Spokane River.  The "river" is really nothing more than a large creek that has served the area farms and dairies as an irrigation source for eons.  The area has become more residential in recent decades and now the county wants to "study" if this new growth has a detrimental effect on the river.  People shot down the meter idea.  The county has since initiated a program called the "Little Spokane River Project".  A flier was mailed to all the area residents several months back.  It stated that every well within 20 miles of the river's edge could be negatively affecting the flow.  They also started putting a value on an average domestic well of $25,000.00.  They once again started talking about metering usage in order to study the affects of the wells in the area on the river.  Forget that fifty years ago most farmers and dairymen were pumping water out of the river with huge irrigation pumps and the wildlife still managed just fine.  The latest flier is now "asking" all residents to complete a survey on the amount of water we use.  It doesn't take a genius to see where this is leading.  They want to get in our pockets.  They want to either tax us or put a flat fee on a per gallon usage of water.  There's a lot of free revenue to be had.  Sorry, but they're not putting any damn meter on my well.  They don't own the water.  They didn't pay to have the well, pump and pressure system installed.  They don't maintain the system and I'm not going to pay one dime to them just to flush my toilet and water the lawn.  They cannot prove that my water source has anything to do with that little creek, it's ten mile away from me.  I guess if they want to pay me $25,000.00 for my well and replace and repair the system when needed, then maybe we can talk, but that's not going to happen.  Sorry for the rant, it's a local issue, but aggravating just the same.  Bob

[Blown70]

Bob,  politicians call that progress....

Kidding aside. I agree, if you put in maintined, etc.  They they can keep there darn hands off.  I would personally send them a letter stating as much and send it certified mail..... keep a copy.

I live on 4.4 acres and would love to have more..... I have what they call rural water, which, I do pay for.  however, If I did have a well, then NO WAY would I be listening to a meter on MY well.

I don't personally have issues now but I see some on the way.......

[skip68]

I have heard of this in Ca. .   Since when did the city, County or state get ownership of the water under your feet on YOUR property ?       They are NOT paying for it, they did NOT install it and they DO NOT maintain it.   This is something that is going to become a large problem soon.   What they do with their water and customers is their business.   What you do with yours is your business.   If they want the luxury of charging you for the improvements to the land of a service they do not provide and that they did not foot the bill for then fine.   But, they must buy your water rights out.       I can see this in the city where there is a choice and city water is in.   But in the country, HELL NO !   The city gets a slice from the extra power used to run the pump as it is.  Are they going to pay that portion of the power bill ?   That is a good question to ask them along with a few others.   People need to stand up and make some noise and not allow those that are not effected by this cast the votes.    I have a 30/30 Bob and I will come and stand by you at your gate.   

[RECHRGD]

I have heard of this in Ca. .   Since when did the city, County or state get ownership of the water under your feet on YOUR property ?       They are NOT paying for it, they did NOT install it and they DO NOT maintain it.   This is something that is going to become a large problem soon.   What they do with their water and customers is their business.   What you do with yours is your business.   If they want the luxury of charging you for the improvements to the land of a service they do not provide and that they did not foot the bill for then fine.   But, they must buy your water rights out.       I can see this in the city where there is a choice and city water is in.   But in the country, HELL NO !   The city gets a slice from the extra power used to run the pump as it is.  Are they going to pay that portion of the power bill ?   That is a good question to ask them along with a few others.   People need to stand up and make some noise and not allow those that are not effected by this cast the votes.    I have a 30/30 Bob and I will come and stand by you at your gate.   

Thanks Chuck-----I am well armed, but don't have a 30/30.   It's interesting to know that this is starting to happen elsewhere.  Bob

[BrianShaughnessy]

I pay for town water / sewer.   Not fun but I'm not stuck like some people I've heard of locally with sulfer water,  slow recovery wells or changing pumps in the middle of winter.  What sucks is they don't actually "know" how much goes into the sewer system so they just charge the same for what's on the water meter and have bumped up those fees while maintaining the same water rate and bragging about that at election time while failing to mention the increased sewage fees.    That's my local bitchnmoan.

Anyhow, I googled washington state water rights got me this link to read:  http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/961804swr.pdf
Apparently you have the right to about 5,000 gallons a day no questions asked.   The water isn't "owned" necessarily by the state or anybody but by the "public" as a whole. 
I wouldn't want a meter on a well either... can't blame you... unless you know somebody that's irrigating a farm (for instance) and it's impacting you then I'd fight it every last step.   

[RECHRGD]

I pay for town water / sewer.   Not fun but I'm not stuck like some people I've heard of locally with sulfer water,  slow recovery wells or changing pumps in the middle of winter.  What sucks is they don't actually "know" how much goes into the sewer system so they just charge the same for what's on the water meter and have bumped up those fees while maintaining the same water rate and bragging about that at election time while failing to mention the increased sewage fees.    That's my local bitchnmoan.

Anyhow, I googled washington state water rights got me this link to read:  http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/961804swr.pdf
Apparently you have the right to about 5,000 gallons a day no questions asked.   The water isn't "owned" necessarily by the state or anybody but by the "public" as a whole. 
I wouldn't want a meter on a well either... can't blame you... unless you know somebody that's irrigating a farm (for instance) and it's impacting you then I'd fight it every last step.   

Thanks for the link Brian.  The 5,000 gallon deal is based upon permitted water rights.  What we're talking about here is the "impact" of ground water levels due to permit exempt residential wells.  They have spent a ton of money on the studies so far and plan on continuing different phases of the study.  They have compiled information on all the wells in the region.  I have no problem with the study as long as it's only purpose is to determine the amount of future growth the area can handle.  If it's end goal is to somehow charge for the use of the water, then I have a huge problem.  They don't come out and say that, but they do mention that they may need to find ways to limit usage.  Time will tell.   Bob

[dodgecharger-fan]

I pay for town water / sewer.   Not fun but I'm not stuck like some people I've heard of locally with sulfer water,  slow recovery wells or changing pumps in the middle of winter.  What sucks is they don't actually "know" how much goes into the sewer system so they just charge the same for what's on the water meter and have bumped up those fees while maintaining the same water rate and bragging about that at election time while failing to mention the increased sewage fees.    That's my local bitchnmoan.

We have something like that now here. Sewers and water treatment used to be paid for by our property taxes. The city would collect those taxes and a portion would then be distributed to the regional government - which manages the water treatment facilities, etc.
The city always billed for water supply.
A few years back, they changed things. The city now collects a water waste fee equal to your water supply fee. Their logic: if it comes out the tap, it has to go down the drain.
While there's arguments to that - like the pool in the backyard, and heck, the backyard itself and all the gardens. But let's take that logic at face value and look at the other part of the equation:

I actually spoke to someone about this when it first happened and his argument was that in the end, my net costs wouldn't change other than any normal increases and the distribution of money for the services wouldn't change. My question then: Why the hell change the billing system and cause all of this confusion? and by the way, I don't believe him.

So now that we're paying directly for the water waste services, my property taxes will go down right? Can you show me that on my tax bill? Uh, no. They actually haven't fixed that part of the system yet, so they're still taking a chunk that is equal to what was allocated for waste water services. They're just not spending it on that anymore.

Apparently, they've since sorted that out, but in parallel, everyone's properties were re-assessed and property taxes went up anyway. So, who the heck knows if they're paying twice for the services.

Now, every time we get a water bill, we get a pamphlet that explains all of the charges. I wonder how much that costs and who's paying for it..

[RD]

tell them to F off and say ruby ridge had nothing on what you will give them