False Advertising

April 14, 2008

Mr. Edmund Archuleta
El Paso Water Utilities
P O Box 511
El Paso, Texas 79961-0001

Dear Mr. Archuleta,

In your March 16, 2008 newspaper advertisement you claim; "The average monthly water and wastewater bill for our residential customers is $40.39, but the same service would cost $75.76 in Fort Worth." That statement is deliberately misleading because:

1)  The ad says the $40.39 bill "assumes 11,970 gallons of water and 6,733 gallons of waste water. " Your Manager of Consumer Affairs says the $40.39 was based on 13,092 gallons of water and a minimum charge for waste water." Your Chief Financial Officer says the $40.39 was based on 10,743 gallons of water and 5,982 gallons of wastewater.

2)  The $40.39 bill for 10,743 gallons of water and 5,982 gallons of wastewater is not "the average monthly water and wastewater bill" for your residential customers. It is your so called "Typical Residential Bill." The "Typical Residential Bill" is not based on any averages. It is a complete fabrication based on arbitrary assumptions. At the January 9, 2008 Public Service Board meeting, you said that there is no such thing as a "Typical Residential Bill" in El Paso.

3)  The "Typical Residential Bill" in Fort Worth is $47.05 compared to $40.39 in El Paso. You ignored their calculation and fabricated a Fort Worth bill in the amount of $75.76.

4)  You used 10,743 gallons of water and 5,985 gallons of wastewater to fabricate a $40.39 "Typical Residential Bill" for El Paso. Then you compared the $40.39 El Paso fabrication to a $75.76 Fort Worth fabrication based on 10,743 gallons of water and 10,743 gallons of wastewater. The Fort Worth fabrication has 4,758 more gallons of wastewater than the El Paso fabrication. The correct calculation for 10,743 gallons of water and 5,985 gallons of wastewater in Fort Worth is $59.92 not $75.76.

5)  Fort Worth has adopted the American Water Works Association standards. Fort Worth rates are based on their Cost of Service. El Paso rates are based on their debt service requirements and their debt service requirements are based on money borrowed to subsidize growth. Therefore El Paso rates are not comparable to Fort Worth rates.

It appears that your ad is another attempt to cover up cronyism. Are you collecting hundreds of millions of dollars from the poor to subsidize the rich? Is there plenty of water available for growth but none available for the national cemetery? Are your cronies more important than those who fought for freedom? Are they more important than 200,000 people living in poverty?

You are required by law to furnish the information that I have requested under the Freedom of Information Act. Your reluctance to furnish the information is a clear indication that you have something to hide.

The solution to this problem is quite easy and it is the right thing to do. The PSB and the city council must adopt the standards of the American Water Works Association along with a conflict of interest policy. The AWWA standard provides that rates must be "designed to promote equity among customers by charging each customer in such a way that a customer is neither subsidized by nor subsidizes other customers." The conflict of interest policy would stop members of the PSB, the City Council and EPWU management from financial gain at the expense of water customers. Your reluctance to pass these resolutions is another indication that you have something to hide.

We can put this matter to rest if you will simply do the right thing.

Sincerely,

Jimmy W. Janacek