You Think Davis Has Utility Issues? Check Out Lake Berryessa's Mess

Lake Berryessa used to be home to five bustling resorts, heavily frequented by tourists who pumped plenty of money into the area. Those days are long gone, and it's costing residents some serious money.

The resorts have closed, businesses have shut their doors and many homeowners are trying to sell, according to a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle. When the resorts left, a massive source of revenue went with them and now the residents are having to make it up through utility-rate hikes. According to the Chronicle:

Residents, facing the prospect of paying off a $205,000 budget shortfall in their sanitary district's budget, agreed to increase their water and sewage rates by 60 percent. The average bill went from about $250 every two months to $430. Some residents now pay as much as $500 every two months.

Davis is in the middle of a well-documented struggle surrounding the issue of utility hikes -- water in particular. To put the rates in perspective, Davis’s rates (had they not been ) would have gone from $69.50 per month to $192.75. The increase would have happened gradually between now and 2016 to cover the cost of a surface water project that would have .

But most of Davis’s water issues are about what should be done for our future, whereas Berryessa’s issue is immediate, and the situation is dire. Berryessa (which is in Napa County) has hopes to close the revenue gap by developing 133 cabins, a marina and more, but that may not happen for years. The community has little choice but to cover the cost until then. 

As for why things changed in the first place: "The decision not to renew the resort contracts was part of an overall scheme by the Bureau of Reclamation to remake the lake. The plan was to remove some 1,500 dilapidated trailers - some of which were dumping raw sewage directly into the lake..." 

As drastic as the proposed rate hikes are in Davis, the situation doesn't carry the same gravity of those of the Lake Berryessa community. Read the full Chronicle story for the details. 

Does their situation affect your feelings on Davis’s water issue? Share any thoughts below.

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