Category: Highlighted

Excerpts from the City of East Palo Alto’s Investigation Report:

From Page 175:

“Recommendations: The City and other agencies must take a closer look at the practices of this company. We ask that you consider Business and Professions Code 17200 when evaluating this case. This is why based on our findings, we recommend submittal of this case to the City of East Palo Alto Attorney’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office for review and possible enforcement action(s).”

“City property has been damaged by the illegal excavations of PAPMWC. They have been destroying recently paved streets and their patch work does not meet City standards.”

“…customers are being charged “impact fees” by PAPMWC. …After they are well underway with their projects, they receive an unexpected bill and are told to pay or face late fees. When they question PAPMWC, they are simply told that they have no choice but to pay if they want to finish their project. Our residents are being placed in a difficult situation…”

“…this water company has had issues keeping their operations up to minimum standards. In 2016, they received their fourth citation by a state agency in the last three years. The Fire Department, not PAPMWC, had to inform the City that its residents were in a dangerous situation given the poor water pressure in July of 2016. All information received by the City from the Fire Department was claimed to be inaccurate by PAPMWC in follow up correspondence. Their actions during these tense situations further drive the point that they are unwilling to collaborate with the City and a working relationship, for the time being, is a stretch.”

From Page 1:

“This investigation is only the starting point. As it was being conducted, more layers of information, violations and issues were discovered. This investigation has been years in the making and cannot be concluded in a few weeks. The City will continue to document and share violations by PAPMWC with outside agencies.”

O’Connor Tract Water Cooperative serves portions of East Palo Alto and Menlo Park, with approximately 345 hookups (compared to PAPMWC’s approximately 600 hookups). They recently completed a Manganese treatment project that brought their water into compliance with the State Water Resource Board’s secondary water standards, unlike the water in the PAPMWC district, which does NOT meet the standard. (All amounts are from public 990 tax filings.)

Personnel Expenses (including contractors)	PAPMWC	O’Connor Tract Water Cooperative	Difference ($)	% Higher
2022	$515,688	$130,251	$385,437	396%
2021	$546,499	$102,783	$443,716	532%
2020	$512,402	$101,936	$410,466	503%
2019	$488,283	$ 92,518	$395,765	528%
2018	$428,830	$ 77,762	$351,068	551%