Claremont is taking the liberty of enforcing eminent domain to the Golden State Water Company (GSWC), to give the residents of Claremont the ability to have a voice in the ratemaking process. This process includes finding out how much the GSWC was charging to get water to Claremont. On Oct. 8, Claremont decided to enforce eminent domain instead of suing, which is the process of legally taking over private property for the purpose of a greater public good.

When Claremont city officials attempted to work with the water company to get a better understanding of the water rate or what exactly the residents were paying for, the water company was not available for help. Although water is free, supplying it to the residents’ homes costs a great deal of money. The water company indicated that it would rather work through the California Public Utilities Commission process and ignored the requests of the city, which were to participate in meetings to discuss how the company came up with their rates. Although the company did supply Claremont with clean drinking water, the city was unsatisfied by the ignored request for more information about why Claremont’s water rates were so high.

“What the Golden State Water Company (GSWC) failed to do in a big way is their lack of building a relationship with our city. Although the city provided numerous opportunities to have them communicate with our residents and decision makers, they instead opted to sideline our concerns and ignore us,” City Council Member Sam Pedroza said.

After the Measure W election on Nov. 4, which ended on a successful note, the city council met on Nov. 25 and passed the resolution of necessity to help the city of Claremont. On Dec. 8, the city’s attorney filed the necessary documents to allow the GSWC to hear the city’s requests. Then, on Dec. 14, the water company was served. The next step Claremont hopes to achieve is to obtain a court hearing and then determine the valuation of the company, which is expected in about one year. The idea is to reach out to another company. Claremont is planning on working with La Verne because the system they use is very similar to Claremont’s.

“The Golden State Water Company (GSWC) is charging us what I deem too much, and if Claremont is successful in their lawsuit then Claremont will have their own water system, so I am excited for that,” freshman Miriam Moore said.

The city wants the water system to be owned by the citizens of Claremont. In order to achieve this, the city will host workshops to make sure that residents are knowledgeable about the water system and understand how it works. The ultimate goal of this situation is to continue to deliver plentiful, clean water. However, the difference will be that every effort will be made to provide water at the most efficient cost. The city will communicate with the residents every step of the way. Claremont hopes that the GSWC will provide information about the high price of water in the future.