FANTASTIC BREAKING NEWS:

Golden State Water Lost Again!


First, Ojai won in lower court when Golden State Water sued to prevent Casitas Water from taking over the system.

Second, GSW appealed that decision in appellate court and lost.


Today, the State Supreme Court refused to hear GSW’s final appeal. Ojai and Claremont are now free to proceed against GSW. This is a huge blow to Golden State Water, and their high priced legal team. This is a very important result.


Now if the majority of GSW customers in our Cowan Heights System truly want GSW gone, it can be done!


May 6th Community Meeting Was A Success!


Congratulations Ojai! 87% Voted Against Golden State Water. Click Here For More!







About Us


Foothill FLOW (Friends of Locally-Owned Water) aka “Region 3 - Cowan Heights”, by Golden State Water (a subsidiary of American States Water public-traded on the NYSE as AWR), covers the areas of Cowan Heights, Lemon Heights, both Rocking Horse Ridges and much of North Tustin. Foothill Flow has approximately 2,400+ residents, which is all residential (with the exception of one elementary school and one church) and has banded together to oust Golden State Water! After a rate increase of 31% over the last three years and a now approved increase of 20 % for 2013, 14 and 15, it is no wonder that Golden State Water has lost the public's trust.


Our #1 Goal is to pay a FAIR price for our water!


We are opposed to the high cost of water ranging from 2.5 to 4.2 times what our closest neighbors pay for water from the Irvine, Orange, and Tustin water districts. We are outraged by this unexplainable excessive over-charging for a basic necessity of life. 


Many people in every community are on fixed-incomes, and others have low incomes. Water sold by Golden State Water is usually one of the highest monthly bills second only to their mortgage.


But we are not alone. Of the total 75 districts served in California by Golden State Water, many of them are fighting back. Felton and Montara have both successfully ousted their private water companies. Ojai is working on ridding itself of Golden State Water after 80 years of service! Barstow, Claremont and many others are seeking viable solutions to the massive rip-off of ratepayers amounting to tens of millions of overcharged dollars each month paid to Golden State Water.


Excess describes the Golden State Water Company, a private for-profit water company who has a strangle-hold on the cities and communities they serve all over California.





Here is an estimated list of those communities/service areas (not in any specific order) in addition to ours which is also called the Placentia Service Area (Cowan/Lemon Heights, Yorba Linda, Orange, Santa Ana, and Placentia) who are captive to Golden State Water’s Monopoly:

  • Ojai
  • Simi Valley
  • Calipatria
  • Barstow, Apple Valley, Lucerne Valley
  • Wrightwood
  • Claremont, Montclair, Pomona, Upland
  • San Dimas, Charter Oaks, Covina, Glendora, LaVerne, Walnut
  • San Gabriel Valley (Arcadia, El Monte, Irwindale, Monrovia, Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel, Temple City)
  • Culver City
  • Los Alamitos Area (Buena Park, Cypress, Garden Grove, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, Seal Beach, Stanton)
  • Southwest Area (Athens, Compton, Carson, Del Aire, Gardena Heights, El Camino Village, El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lennox, Redondo Beach, Torrance)
  • Central Basin West (Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, Hollydate, Huntington Park, Paramount, Santa Fe Springs, South Park, Willowbrook)
  • Central Basin East (Artesia, Cerritos, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, La Mirada, Lakewood, Long Beach, Norwalk, Whittier)
  • Clearlake, Baypoint, Los Osos, Edna Valley San Luis Obispo
  • Santa Maria Area (Santa Maria, Lake Marie, Nipomo, Orcutt, Sisquoc, Tanglewood)
  • Arden Cordova Area (Arden Manor, Gold River, Rancho Cordova, Sacramento)

Golden State Water has increased all of our water rates by 31% in the last 3 years and has just increased the cost of our water another 16%, effective January 1, 2013, which at the end of 3 years will total 20%. These current and past increases far exceed rate increases seen by local municipal and public water agencies.

Public agencies are prevented by Proposition 218 from profiting from the sale of water, a necessity of life. But NOT "private" Golden State Water, whose high overhead, as well as the high overhead of their parent company American States Water (NYSE:AWR), who need to increase profit and dividends to their stock holders year-after-year. GSW has learned how "to convince" the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) that their applied-for rate increases are necessary.





What is a Monopoly? It is a situation in which a single company owns all or nearly all of the market for a given type of service or product. The single company operates without competition. We pay GSW an exorbitant price for water that is no better than water delivered by public water agencies whose interest is the ‘public good’. Ratepayers are outraged. Water is more than a commodity it is an absolute necessity of life. It should be delivered responsibility at the lowest possible cost, not the highest. Due to these escalating costs, Golden State Water has lost the public's trust.


We believe that water is sacred and shouldn't be privatized. In the video section of this site you can watch several videos showing the public outrage with Golden State Water as well as privately-owned water around the world. This is not only a local outrage, but a global one. We’ve also provided specific materials on the ills of privatization of water. Another great source of information is the Ojai FLOW website at www.ojaiflow.com.


Golden State Water will claim that it's sanctioned by the CPUC and that its rates have been approved and are fair under the State of California, however a quick search of California PUC shows the close relationship between utilities suppliers and the CPUC, and the ‘revolving door.’


Foothill Flow's goal is to permanently rid our community of Golden State Water in favor of a more responsible lower-cost public water agency. 



Sign the Petition Today!