Residents protest AVRWC hike (May 29, 2011)

APPLE VALLEY • They’ve attended council meetings, volunteered to serve on the town’s Blue Ribbon Water Commission [sic] and started a website to raise awareness.

And this weekend, members of the group High Desert Concerned Citizens stood on the corner of Bear Valley and Apple Valley roads waving signs, protesting a proposed rate hike by the town’s largest water purveyor.

I know this is wishful thinking, but maybe some attention will help influence people to get pissed and get involved, said Dave Christman, who helped found the High Desert Concerned Citizens. This is really our last opportunity to show our disdain for these insane water rates.

The protest was planned to generate support and bring out a crowd for a hearing Wednesday by the California Public Utilities Commission.

The CPUC agreed to hold the hearing locally to consider a requested rate hike by Apple Valley Ranchos Water Co. The company, which already charges some of the highest rates in the High Desert, has asked to raise water charges by 20 percent next year and a total of 25.6 percent over the next three.

Source: Brooke Edwards, Daily Press