By: Libi Uremovic | Original Article at Patch.com
Beaumont has Collected Over $50 Million to Build a Wastewater Treatment Facility, but All the Money is Gone
On September 10, 2014 the Beaumont-Cherry Valley Water District voted to obtain Title 22 Compliant Recycled Water from the Yucaipa Valley Water District after waiting 20 years for the City of Beaumont build a Wastewater Treatment Plant and produce Title 22 Compliant Recycled Water.
The City of Beaumont’s original Sewer Plant was built in 1929. It had the sewage capacity for a few thousand homes and no wastewater recycling abilities.
In 1993 the City obtained an $8.5 Million Bond to upgrade and expand the old Sewer Plant and build a Wastewater Treatment Plant to provide sewer and recycled water for the 4,000 current homes and businesses and 2,200 anticipated new homes and businesses.
From 1993 – 2001 the City of Beaumont has obtained a total of $25.8 Million in Bond Debt to build a Wastewater Treatment Plant, but the facility was never built and all the money is gone.
The City has built over 10,000 homes in the last 20 years without adequate sewer facilities or a recycled water facility. The City relies on an Aquifer Basin that has been in Overdraft for years, and water purchased from the State, if available.
If the Beaumont-Cherry Valley area continues to use drinking water for construction, lawns, and golf courses their drinking water supply is projected to run out in less than 5 years.
The Property Owners in the Developments pay additional Mello Roos taxes in part for proper sewer facilities and a Wastewater Treatment Plant that produces Title 22 Compliant recycled water. Unknown Millions in Additional Taxes and Fees have been collected from Property Owners for a Wastewater Treatment Facility that has never been built.
For 20 years the Sewer Plant has been operated by Deepak Moorjani, City Engineer/Urban Logic Consultant. The City claims outside companies operate the Sewer Plant, but in the last 20 years the ‘outside companies’ have consisted of Moorjani changing the letterhead from ‘Urban Logic Services’ to ‘Aquarion’ to ‘Utility Partners’.
The last time the City attempted to become Title 22 Compliant was in 2007.
The State Regional Quality Control Board has issued Guidelines and Penalties upon the City of Beaumont, but the Board has failed to uphold any Standards or properly Regulate the City and protect the Citizens.
Instead of building the Wastewater Treatment Plant the City lied and told the community that they built a state-of-the-art Wastewater Treatment Facility when in fact they built nothing at all.
The City now has the construction of the Wastewater Treatment Facility on their ‘to do’ list with a price tag of $69.5 Million. The City has collected enough money to build the Plant, but all the money’s gone.
All of the Bond money is gone. All of the Mello Roos Taxes are gone. All of the Additional Fees and Taxes are gone. And if the Developers paid any monies to build a wastewater treatment plant – that’s gone too.
In the last 20 years the City of Beaumont has collected over $50 Million to build a Wastewater Treatment Facility. There is no Plant and all the money’s gone.
The City claims that it currently ‘recharges’ – meaning dumps – millions of gallons of wastewater into the Basin every day. Wastewater that did not meet the standards for Title 22 Compliance in 2007.
The City of Beaumont has a Population of 40,000 People, Bond Debt over $300 Million, Lawsuits over $100 Million, 30 Year Mortgages, a Five Year Water Supply, and an Infrastructure that’s little more than smoke and mirrors.