CHICK URGES CITY TO ALTER RATES FOR SEWER USE WITHOUT REVIEW.Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer Saying the city doesn't need an expensive study to know that the current sewer usage billing formula is unfair, Councilwoman Laura Chick called on her colleagues to adopt a new system now rather than later. Chick said in a letter to her colleagues that a council-ordered study to better gauge sewer use may end up costing $700,000 and take 18 months to complete. She called it unnecessary. "It is unconscionable Unusually harsh and shocking to the conscience; that which is so grossly unfair that a court will proscribe it. When a court uses the word unconscionable to describe conduct, it means that the conduct does not conform to the dictates of conscience. that we continue to bill the residents of our city using the current system which is so obviously flawed flaw 1 n. 1. An imperfection, often concealed, that impairs soundness: a flaw in the crystal that caused it to shatter. See Synonyms at blemish. 2. and unfair," Chick wrote. Sewer service charges are based on a percentage of annual water use and on assumptions about the amount of consumed water returned to the sewers. But many San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. residents have complained that the bills are inflated unfairly because Valley residents with larger lots use a lot of water for pools and irrigation irrigation, in agriculture, artificial watering of the land. Although used chiefly in regions with annual rainfall of less than 20 in. (51 cm), it is also used in wetter areas to grow certain crops, e.g., rice. during summer months in the hotter, drier Valley climate. That water does not go into the sewer system Noun 1. sewer system - facility consisting of a system of sewers for carrying off liquid and solid sewage sewage system, sewage works facility, installation - a building or place that provides a particular service or is used for a particular industry; "the , so it should not affect residents' sewer charges, Chick said. As a result, Valley council members including Chick have called on the city to use winter water use data - when there is less irrigation - as the basis for calculating sewer use. But other council members fear that a change could lead to higher costs for their constituents. The council deadlocked dead·lock n. 1. A standstill resulting from the opposition of two unrelenting forces or factions. 2. Sports A tied score. 3. in December over adopting the new formula. |
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