Residents of Lake Shore and Marina View should accept the plan to consolidate their water systems with Bass Lake Water Company (BLWC), the Madera County grand jury said in a report issued this month.
For decades, water from wells in both districts, created in 1963 to serve a combined 130 homes, have contained high rates of arsenic, uranium, gross alpha, and manganese - carcinogenic substances that exceed federal compliance standards for safe drinking water.
Over the last two years, in meetings between the public and state and county officials, details of the plan changed after residents expressed concerns about the project’s costs and effects.
Last November, the state and county offered up what they called a “golden opportunity,” a 100% grant from the state for $6.233 million to fund treatment systems, four miles of intertied pipelines, updated storage tanks, a booster pump station, and meters - a state mandate by 2025.
In the grand jury’s report, it notes after that meeting, “some (Lake Shore) property owners rescinded their opposition to the consolidation.”
For recommendations, the grand jury made only one, that “(Lake Shore) property owners voluntarily support and participate in the consolidation with BLWC and (Marina View) to ensure drinking water that meets (state) and secondary standards.”
Some residents remain critical of the project, and have said they will continue to voice their concerns.
May 31, 2017
Sierra Star
By Mark Evan Smith
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