por Jay Wilson

Residents’ latest water bills are a definite concern as noted by the number of emails we have received. The first thing to understand is that the billing cycle was anywhere from five to 12 days longer than previous bills due to a change by the city water department’s billing cycle.

We have been told that this was a one-time change, and that future billing cycles will be the standard 60 days. However, some residents noted that their bills were much higher, even accounting for the longer billing cycle.

One email I received stated:

“Several of us on our street in San Carlos received AUG water bills that were 30 percent to 100 percent higher than normal. After checking the reading on our water meters, we found huge errors compared to the Current Read amounts of usage on our AUG bills. We called SD Water Department Customer Service at 619-515-3500 and were told that ‘many errors have been made recently because of new hires reading home water meters incorrectly’; and we are being issued new (lower) correct bills that are saving us hundreds of dollars. You might check your water meter before you pay your bill this month and from here forward.”

It is unclear if this is still part of the issue regarding the December water bills.

As a follow-up to all the emails and inquiries, I have requested that a staff member from the water department attend our January meeting of the Del Cerro Action Council (DCAC) on Thursday, Jan. 25. Copies of several bills have been forwarded to the customer service department for review so that the person representing the water department can comment on specific bills. Only the data on the bills will be referenced, not any names or identifying information at our DCAC meeting.

Because of a specific court case involving the city of San Diego, everything to do with Maintenance Assessment Districts within the city has been placed on hold. At this time, there is no indication as to how long it may be before the matter is resolved.

At the Navajo Community Planners, Inc. meeting on Jan. 10, Liz Saidkhanian from Councilmember Scott Sherman’s office mentioned that the city has issued a request for proposals to the realignment, including engineering, of Alvarado Canyon Road. This has been an on-going project for over 15 years. The westbound end of this road currently intersects with the westbound Interstate 8 off-ramp for Mission Gorge Road and Fairmount Avenue. The contract for the initial work should be awarded within six months. Saidkhanian also announced that the contract for the new playground at the Rancho Mission Park on Margerum Avenue should be awarded this summer.

Finally, beginning in June of this year and continuing through November of 2019, the city will be rehabilitating sewer lines in the Navajo Area. The two streets in Del Cerro will be Camino Corto between Ridge Manor Avenue and Del Paso Avenue and Claremore Avenue between Del Paso Avenue and Claremore Lane. The city will be contacting residents two weeks prior to the initiation of any work. The project will ultimately rehabilitate 7.65 miles of old sewer mains and approximately 966 sewer service laterals, replace 717 linear feet of old sewer mains, replace five manholes, and install 32 sewer main cleanouts.

DCAC meets Thursday, Jan. 25, at 7 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El. Visit delcerroactioncouncil.org para más información.

— Jay Wilson is secretary for the Del Cerro Action Council. Reach him at [email protected].