Nipomo News

On Wednesday of last week, 2/27/08, The Nipomo  Community Services District (NCSD) had an opportunity to move the business and commercial community forward by granting an intent to serve letter to a 71 room hotel.  The directors punted, and delayed any decision until June.  That was the wrong decision.  The Tribune, has now weighed in with an editorial entitled Proposed Nipomo Hotel Deserves Water Service.  The Tribune agreed with the NCSD decision, but cautioned that the board should recognize the need for a hotel in Nipomo.  I agree with the Tribune that we do need a hotel in Nipomo; however, I disagree with the decision to delay, which I will explain below the jump. Read more…

One wonders, after reading the most recent public “press release” under Ms. Whitlow’s name, apparently released with the authority and blessing of the NCSD Board.  Ms. Whitlow is listed on the NCSD website as a Conservation and Public Outreach Specialist, and is apparently a full time, salaried employee of the NCSD.  Why the NCSD actually needs such a person, at rate payer expense, is the subject of an entirely different post. Read more…

One of the popular pastimes these days in the local Nipomo water debate is discussing the health of the Nipomo Aquifer. One of the most common scare tactics used by those who argue that Nipomo is in the midst of a water crisis is to claim that the Nipomo aquifer is over drafted and is in imminent danger of sea water intrusion. Fortunately we can look at objective empirical data to help us answer the question about whether the Nipomo aquifer is over drafted and if it has experienced seawater intrusion, or whether we are in danger of seawater intrusion in the future. Read more…

During the course of the lengthy Santa Maria Basin complex water litigation, our locally elected Nipomo Community Services District retained, in conjunction with other water purveyors, an expert witness to testify at trial. The expert the NCSD retained was Robert G. Beeby, P.E. of the consulting company, SAIC. You can see Mr. Beeby’s qualifications here: Beeby CV . You can read about SAIC’s qualifications here. On their website they describe their company: Read more…