The Central Coast Blue project has been a hot topic among residents in the Five Cities area and even led to an increase in water rates in Grover Beach.
Many residents, like Kenneth Lehmann, opposed that increase.
"Our water rates were going to be higher than Pismo,” he said.
With project costs rising, the loss of state funding, and improvements in local water supplies, Grover Beach and Arroyo Grande backed out. Pismo Beach is now the only city still considering the project.
Arroyo Grande resident Gus Ahumada wonders about the impact the project will have on the people of Pismo Beach.
“I certainly hope that it doesn't affect them in a major way," Ahumada said. "It's already expensive enough as it is to live in this beautiful area that we call home.”
Stan Nosek lives in Pismo Beach part-time and has another question — “What happens if we don't do this? What are the consequences of it?”
"I think it's a, there's already been such a huge investment of time, of resources into the project that was identified as Central Coast Blue that there's still value in it," said Mike James, City of Pismo Beach Assistant City Manager.
James says the city council is exploring other potential projects to secure a future water source. He says options include amending the Central Coast Blue project and looking at various funding options such as applying for water grants.
According to James, it’s too early to tell if the city's involvement in the project will affect water rates.
“Maybe in the next fiscal year, we would start, potentially, allocating staff time to be able to look at what other projects are available or what could be moving forward," James said.
I also reached out to Congressman Salud Carbajal’s office about the $16.6 million federal grant awarded to Pismo Beach for Central Coast Blue.
Carbajal’s Senior Advisor and Communications Director confirmed that the city could still use these funds when determining the next steps, even after the neighboring cities’ withdrawal.
The Grover Beach city council is expected to vote Monday night on the amendment of the Joint Powers Authority agreement for the project, which is needed for both Arroyo Grande and Grover Beach to exit the Authority by June 30. I will be following up on that and with Pismo Beach to find out which water resource project they are hoping to secure.
