Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Waterfix, what & why is it, who benefits and how much will it cost us?
Is Waterfix the right thing to do for Santa Clara Valley? Obviously The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) serving 19 million people in Los Angeles County and adjacent counties is very in favor of Waterfix. Over 30% of the water used is from the Sacramento Delta, another major source, roughly 15%, is the Colorado River via the aqueduct. Without the continued access to both imports, Southern California has major problems supplying the current and growing population and industries.
An underlying issue is the water source for the State Water Project which is the source for the California Aqueduct is an area on the south side of the Delta, Clifton Court Forebay. It is 3 to 6 feet above sea level. If sea level increases by 3 feet there is a significant potential for salt water intrusion, into the Delta, especially in a drought when the water flow into the Delta is decreased. The result is that the water available from the Delta may not be a reliable source in the future.
The tunnels bypass the Delta and start at about 150 feet above sea level, three feeder tunnels/intakes on the Sacramento river south of the city . The twin tunnels run 30 miles, 150 feet below the Delta and each is 40 feet in diameter. Then the tunnels are pumped into the
Clifton Court Forebay which connects to several canals/aqueducts including the California Aqueduct. This is supposed to preserve the utility of the existing SWP (State Water Project) infrastructure and extend it's life by over 100 years or more.
The diversion of the water from the Delta have raised concerns of environmentalists that it may actually damage the Delta and contribute to the damage to several endangered species, of fish.
To put the size of the project in perspective the tunnels will be roughly the same length, as the English Channel tunnels. The "estimated" costs are $16 billion and $8 billion for restoration of the Delta. Keep in mind that the Chunnels missed their forecast budget and actually cost twice as much ($50+ billion).
In "theory" the taxpayers are not paying for the Waterfix, but in reality we're looking at spending our money, as increases in water bills and/or property tax (Parcel Tax) will actually pay for the project. In our case Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD aka The Golden Spigot), which voted conditionally on 10/17/2017, to support a single tunnel version. Which is likely the worst decision as cutting number of tunnels in half (a) won't cut the cost in half, likely less than 30% less cost., (b) no redundancy in the event of an earth quake, (c) a failure in the tunnel will require it be shut down completely for repairs.
Financial support is becoming soft from various water districts, except those that are the direct beneficiaries of the guaranteed water supply or those that feel they can get access without the financial burden.
It's time for Governor Brown to take a hard look at the twin-tunnel portion of WaterFix, before it becomes California's equivalent of the Pyramids, by the Nile.
Friday, November 3, 2017
SJWC Stock Price increases, Customer Service really drops, into the abyss!
This blogger has some strong opinions on Customer Service, as I started at Honeywell Computers, in the late 1960's, as a Field Engineer. Looking at a somewhat customer driven source, Yelp, and the detailed ratings, Yelp has on their website. It's obvious that customers opinion of San Jose Water Company has plummeted slightly above 2+ stars in 2013 to an abysmal rating of 1+ stars. Please keep in mind that unhappy customers can't submit a review with no stars, so effectively SJWC has "successfully" almost gotten a zero star rating and customers comments indicate they feel they should be able to enter a zero star review.
SJWC has lower ratings than Comcast, in San Jose, I never thought customer service could be worse than Comcast.
It seems to come to a simple question if your city has two restaurants and "A" gets a Yelp rating of 4 stars and "B" gets a Yelp rating of 1 star where do you go to eat dinner? Eventually "B" goes out of business, but that's not the end of the story since "A" is the only restaurant in town they begin to increase prices, until their revenue starts to decrease and they petition the city council to guarantee their revenues, so they can continue to serve expensive meals. The city decides to make them financially whole providing a reverse tax on each meal they serve. No, the story goes on, as the tax payers realize they are paying much more for the meal they eat at restaurant "A", as a group in the city is subsidizing by paying taxes which have increased much faster than would be reasonable and faster than other cities. In the final analysis capitalism and the inherent opportunity for competition would seem to restrain company greed and avarice.
I can only surmise that franchised monopolies, like San Jose Water Company (water) has no competition and Comcast (TV, Internet, services) has emerging competition, will have extremely poor to abysmal customer service when customers have few or no alternatives, to their product or services. I did note that there was a small uptick in the Comcast Yelp rating, streaming and cable cutters may have them worried?
Keep in mind customer service is not generally consider a profit center and rather, is a cost of doing business. In the corporate drive for profits and stock valuation, customer service will be tolerated at best. The customer service representatives are the face of a company that a vast majority ever see.
Have you ever thought that tying part of the customer service management bonuses, to customer satisfaction, based on third party unbiased data! One can't but dream a little!
Visit: https://www.yelp.com/biz/san-jose-water-company-san-jose to view source of data.
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Posted for Rita Benton, WRATES, Water Rate Advocates for Transparency, Equity and Sustainability
SJWC has lower ratings than Comcast, in San Jose, I never thought customer service could be worse than Comcast.
It seems to come to a simple question if your city has two restaurants and "A" gets a Yelp rating of 4 stars and "B" gets a Yelp rating of 1 star where do you go to eat dinner? Eventually "B" goes out of business, but that's not the end of the story since "A" is the only restaurant in town they begin to increase prices, until their revenue starts to decrease and they petition the city council to guarantee their revenues, so they can continue to serve expensive meals. The city decides to make them financially whole providing a reverse tax on each meal they serve. No, the story goes on, as the tax payers realize they are paying much more for the meal they eat at restaurant "A", as a group in the city is subsidizing by paying taxes which have increased much faster than would be reasonable and faster than other cities. In the final analysis capitalism and the inherent opportunity for competition would seem to restrain company greed and avarice.
I can only surmise that franchised monopolies, like San Jose Water Company (water) has no competition and Comcast (TV, Internet, services) has emerging competition, will have extremely poor to abysmal customer service when customers have few or no alternatives, to their product or services. I did note that there was a small uptick in the Comcast Yelp rating, streaming and cable cutters may have them worried?
Keep in mind customer service is not generally consider a profit center and rather, is a cost of doing business. In the corporate drive for profits and stock valuation, customer service will be tolerated at best. The customer service representatives are the face of a company that a vast majority ever see.
Have you ever thought that tying part of the customer service management bonuses, to customer satisfaction, based on third party unbiased data! One can't but dream a little!
Visit: https://www.yelp.com/biz/san-jose-water-company-san-jose to view source of data.
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| SJWC, Yelp Customer Rating 2013 to 2017 |
Posted for Rita Benton, WRATES, Water Rate Advocates for Transparency, Equity and Sustainability
Join WRATES and sign the petition, WRATES and petition.WRATES is making a difference!CPUC PUBLIC HEARING - Plan to attend.If you haven’t attended a meeting regarding SJWC yet, this is the one to attend!!! The customers of SJWC will actually see a reduction in our water rates come January if the CPUC decides to lower SJWC’s Investment Returns. We need to fill the room at SJ City Hall and let the CPUC know that we have had enough of SJWC’s outrageous rate increases. We have gained traction and the CPUC is listening. Let's not miss this opportunity. Find someone to carpool with. Make an evening of it. Plan to attend.When: Monday, November 6, 2017 at 7:30 pmWhere: San Jose City Hall, Council Chambers, 200 E. Santa Clara Street, San JoseWhat: CPUC Public Hearing will address issues related to SJWCAttire: Wear a BLUE shirt in solidarityValidated parking can be found at:City Hall underground parking garage. Entrance is on 6th street.4th street garage at 4th and San Fernando (near Flames)The public will have 1 to 2 minutes to speak, depending on the size of the crowd. WRATES members are writing one minute talking points to present to the CPUC at the hearing. We will be looking for individuals at the hearing to read the talking points. You can also write your own talking point if you wish. Plan to attend even if you don’t wish to speak. Attendance is important for the CPUC to recognize the magnitude of the rate issues/increases facing ratepayers.Please post on your Nextdoor, Yelp, Facebook etc. and get the word out. Attendance is vital.
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