On February 26, 2017, Muir Beach residents gathered in working groups to discuss their wishes for their water system, economically, ecologically and socially.  This was part of the Ad Hoc Water Committee Water Education Day.

Process: Each group was assigned a facilitator and a note taker. Residents called out suggestions, which were captured on large format paper taped to a vertical surface, so all participants in the group could see and digest all the ideas of the group. At the end of the session, each resident was provided three dot-stickers to use to indicate their first three priorities on the group list. The ideas were then re-formatted in order of which received the most dots from the group as a whole.

 

Group 1 'What do we want for Muir Beach water economically?'

  • The group overwhelmingly prioritized developing a water system that pays for itself and including the cost of long-term depreciation/ infrastructure needs.
  • The group overwhelmingly favored exploring a new pricing system.
  • Many supported putting funds aside/creating a financial reserve for capital improvements for water and looking at a new tiered costing system.
  • One or two wanted to pursue grey water systems, implement more punitive rates for large volume users and to learn from Stinson and Bolinas water management and revenue systems.

Group 2 'What do we want for Muir Beach water ecologically?'

  • The group prioritized understanding more about the Aquashares program and how this system rewards everyone in the water district/watershed.
  • The group also prioritized water catchment systems and resuming testing for metals in Redwood Creek (related to visitor traffic).
  • Some wanted to develop water storage in heavy rainfall times for use in drought conditions, and wanted CSD to provide subsidies for water saving devices.
  • Some requested an updated water report along the one conducted in 2002.
  • A few showed interest in balancing community needs with salmon needs and coordinating with others on Redwood Creek water use impacts.
  • A few wanted grey water retrieval to be required for landscaping and new building permits.

Group 3 'What do we want for Muir Beach water socially?'

  • The group prioritized needing advanced metering to provide residents and the district with real-time feedback on water use.
  • The group also prioritized charging residents by house size, number of people in the house and gallons of consumption.
  • The group expressed a high concern about the water system requiring expensive long-term infrastructure maintenance/upgrades and how this might impact low-income residents.
  • The group noted but did not prioritize:
    • Concern about proposition 218 limiting CA water districts scope of revenue, but offering no long-term advice on infrastructure costs.
    • Keeping the status quo on water
    • Identifying who should bear the burden of water system upgrades.

The Muir Beach 101 Water Planning and Action Event wouldn’t have been possible without the support of:

Janice Kubota
Frank + Barbara Schoenfeld
Danny Hobson Ruah
Steve Schaffer
Ken High
Robin Terra
Kathy + John-John Sward
Greg Ketchum
Debbie Hurt
Suzanne Miller
Sohpie Conti
Linda Lotriet
Brenda Cohn
Debra Macdonald
Tim Crosby
Outi Ornorato
Joani Marinof
Nina Vincent
Jim White
Steve Utstein
Peter Lambert
Ann and Paul Jeschke
Tessa Peres
Maude Utstein
Ted Eliot