Desert Hot Springs residents push back on costly water valve mandate
Shay Lawson
DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Some Desert Hot Springs residents say they are being forced to choose between paying thousands of dollars or losing access to their water service.
A homeowner, who asked to remain anonymous, told News Channel 3 he and a few of his neighbors received letters from Mission Springs Water District (MSWD) informing them that their homes are deemed hazards to their water system, and as such gave them 30 days to install the “backflow protection device that meets compliance standards.”
MSWD officials said the device is designed to stop contaminated water from flowing back into the public water system, but some residents said the mandate comes with steep costs.
“The notice that I received was some sort of inspection where they just drove by my house and took a picture and said, my house is a hazard to the water system,” said the homeowner. “It wanted me to install a commercial grade pressure reducing anti-backflow device.”
The homeowner said the particular valve can cost at least $3,000 plus annual inspection fees.
He also said he’s worried about reduced water pressure.
“What an MSWD official told me is that once they install this particular device, it drops the water pressure at least 10 to 15 psi,” he said. “I’m thinking that’s going to give me like 10 psi water pressure at my house, I don’t think that’s even usable. The MSWD officials response was to just go out and buy a water booster pump. That could be $6,000 for something like that.”
Danny Friend, MSWD Director of Operations, said the district is following new state requirements that went into effect this summer.
“Recently the state made some updates and we’re aligning our program,” said Friend. “In this case, there are some homes that have a hydraulic gradient issue where they’re higher than the water system, and in circumstances where there is a water main break or a high water demand situation, it could create a reverse flow.”
Friend said homeowners are required to cover the cost of installation.
“For state requirements, the homeowner does have a responsibility to ensure that they have the properly approved backflow prevention assembly installed on the customer side of the meter,” Friend said.
He said that no subsidies are currently available.
“Unfortunately at this stage of the program, there’s nothing being offered by the state,” Friend said. “In circumstances like this, if they do need assistance, they can reach out to our public information office and we can provide them additional resources.”
So far, the district said only a handful of homes have been flagged. But Friend acknowledged that hazard assessments will eventually be conducted for all 14,000 service connections in the district.
Stay with News Channel 3 at 10 and 11 p.m. for the full story.