OP/ED: Wheeler Water Customers Helping Build New Manzanita City Hall?*

By Gary Gitzen, Wheeler, OR

The new 2024-2025 budget process is now being assembled for proposal to Wheeler citizens. With that in mind, The Voice wants to bring up a couple of points about the water.

“U.S. Municipal Water & Sewer: Annual Utility Rate Index, 2023. Across 50 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas, average monthly household water bills increased to US $50.61. Two cities demonstrating the largest rate increases from 2022–2023 were El Paso, Texas and San Jose, California. El Paso residents recorded a 17% increase in their water.”

Wheeler’s water rate increased an unreasonable and absurd 108% . The Wheeler tap charge alone of $58 is higher than the entire average U.S. water rates. Add Wheeler’s average water usage to the water bill, more than doubles the average U.S water bill. And we live in Oregon with 100 inches of rain a year, not the Mojave desert.

Why is this happening when Wheeler owns the well on Foley Creek Road that Wheeler shares with Manzanita. The original agreement was to SHARE the water. Wheeler continues to pay exactly half of the costs to run the water system with Manzanita. While Manzanita uses more than 110 million gallons a year, Wheeler uses only 21 million gallons.

Manzanita not only makes more than $1,000,000 a year of Wheeler well water, they pocket enough money from the 5,000 summertime State Park’s flush toilets and hot showers to buy cars and trucks.

The original Manzanita agreement was to use the same shared amount with Wheeler. However, they have taken advantage of Wheeler’s lack of asking for what is owed.

The water plant alongside the Big Wave at the corner of Laneda and Hwy 101 was supposed to make up the rest of their water system by tapping from Alder Creek, Anderson Creek and Necarney Creek.

None of those Manzanita creeks are being utilized. The Manzanita water plant is used as an office to park their car and truck for the Manzanita Public Works for Wheeler water purchased.

Have you seen the large cleared lot across from Manzanita Fresh Foods for the new Manzanita City Hall; Wheeler water is purchasing.

Wheeler is entitled to SHARE more than $1,000,000 Manzanita is collecting for 89,000,000 gallons of Wheeler water above the 21 million gallons Wheeler uses.

*Shared from the March 29 Headlight Herald Opinion page.