Back in business, again!

City council, Brooktrails begin anew in 2022

Monday, January 11, 2022

NEWSBOY Contents:

• Fines for water crimes: Brooktrails Board of Directors briefing

• Water for salmon: Willits City Council briefing

• Notes on nature

• News quote

Good afternoon! This week Brooktrails and the City of Willits get back to work with meetings this week. For Brooktrails, the district is talking about ordinances to penalize water theft and those who use more than the township’s gallons-per-month cap. 

At the city, council members consider a resolution that says the conservation group Trout Unlimited can begin working on a pilot program to help salmon with water from the city’s reservoir.

Have a great week, wherever you are. 

More on that and more in your briefing below:

★★★

Water crimes?

Tuesday night Brooktrails board of directors will consider two proposed ordinances–one that would punish water theft and another that would punish customers simply using too much water. 

If the ordinance for exceeding the monthly cap advances,the district then follows the steps of formally reading  the ordinances and publishing a legal notice for a public hearing and. 

“Instances of water theft have included illegally connecting to a disconnected water meter, hot tapping of existing water lines into properties not connected to the water system, squatters in unoccupied houses and others.”

The state wishes water providers such as Brooktrails enact fines as stated in AB 427. 

The bill  distinguished between water taken by water meter tampering and other means. 

Water stolen by meter tampering would bring a fine of $130 for the first offense, $700 for the second and $1,300 after that, according to state legislation.

Water taken by other means would bring stiffer penalties–$1,000 for the first offense, $2,000 the second time and $3,000 if you still keep taking water.