After my Nov. 25 letter about the Upcountry meter list, I received these corrections from the Department of Water Supply:
The final date for Upcountry priority list registration is Dec. 31. I had assumed the earliest possible list closure date of Dec. 8.
If you registered for the priority list after 2001, your meter fee is whatever the current fee is when you get the award letter - not $6,000. I understood this but could not express it in the 250-word letter limit.
A big issue: If you are now on the list, your second application will not be accepted unless it is for a different purpose. After you receive the first award letter, you can change your request (i.e., change five meters to one meter) but you must decide within 30 days whether you can make the needed improvements. If you refuse then, you are off the list and cannot reapply. You cannot wait until the later date appropriate for your second application position as my letter contends.
In this sense, it is a disadvantage to be on the list now if you have extensive fire flow improvements. This policy is not written into the law. It is completely a DWS administrative decision, i.e., an arbitrary DWS policy. Perhaps someone will challenge it in court.
Apply now if you are not on the list and think you may ever need a meter. You can download a meter list application from www.umla.ws or the county website's DWS engineering page.
Richard H. Pohle
Kula
