The California American Water Company (Cal-Am) may be able to outspend the community, but it cannot silence the movement for locally-owned water.

Over the years, ratepayers have grown more and more aggravated with Cal-Am’s inadequate service and the over-pumping and exploitation of the Carmel River by the company. In response to this, Monterey FLOW (Friends of Locally Owned Water) and Citizens for Public Water formed to mobilize the community behind Measure W. The measure, which appeared on the ballot in November 2005, would have allowed for funding of a study to assess the process for a community buy-out of the water utilities. Cal-Am was able to defeat the measure by outspending the community groups 10-1. The company spent $300,000, making the campaign the most expensive in Monterey history. The Monterey County Herald reported on November 20, 2006 that a judge allowed Cal-Am to pass the costs of its “public outreach” — $1,353,831 — on to its customers through new surcharges beginning January 2007.

Cal-Am is proposing to increase rates by 300% by 2010. Monterey FLOW and Citizens for Public Water continue to keep residents informed about the increase proposal on their website.