Letter: SLVWD rate increase essential to maintaining water system infrastructure

EDITOR,
No one likes rate increases. Some folks have a knee jerk reaction and automatically oppose any rate increase, for any reason.
I for one, having lived and gardened with the rates of California American Water Co. for a number of years, am not so dead set against the rate increases that San Lorenzo Valley Water District is asking for.
I know that our water bill under CAL AM would easily be triple the amount I am paying now with SLVWD.  
CAL AM was getting these high rates and frequent steep increases and weren’t even doing the repairs that were needed.
They cared only about their corporate shareholders, and definitely not about the watershed or the community.
SLVWD is a municipally owned water system. This means it is locally owned and operated.  They have public meetings that offer a chance to become informed and offer input.  
Participating in local government by gathering information and offering input requires time, energy, and thoughtfulness.
Our lives have become so busy and distracted that we leave it up to others until something like a rate increase wakes us up.
The rate increases SLVWD is asking for has been deferred once already.
Infrastructure is not free. Big brother doesn’t automatically provide water. It takes equipment that needs repair and eventually replacement to keep water flowing efficiently and safely.
We take water coming out of our tap for granted. Especially in drought years, we can’t have old pipes leaking precious water all over the place.
We can’t keep putting off the inevitable as it will only make it more expensive.
Is a new facility necessary? I don’t know. I need to go to the meetings or read the minutes from the meetings to become informed.
I do know good clean water and a well-run water district is a fundamental requirement for a healthy community and we, as an intelligent community need to prioritize it.  
Susan Merritt, Felton