Our cup runneth over

Lake Mendocino is having quite a year. Only two months ago, one can still walk from the parking lot across the lake to the island that looks like a dark blob in the middle of the picture above.

There was land where it's just water now. Below, you can see the trees that are now in the water. You'll have to take my word that those trees used to stand over the waters of Lake Mendocino.

That was a parking lot, above. The gate down to the ramp was closed, which is probably a good idea. That didn't stop people from hopping over anyway. There's a smaller parking lot above the gate that was chock full with cars. We got lucky, though; someone was pulling out just as we were turning into the lot. Some people just parked along the road.

The sign below has always been there that I can remember, but I think it's still funny considering what the "road" looks like now. The trees outline what used to be the parking lot.

Some people also decided to use the parking lot for swimming/bathing.

The next picture was taken from the north ramp. Some of the trees were also in the water, but the parking lots, for the most part, were unscathed.

This, however, is not stopping our overlords in the city council from proposing to raise our water rates.

A 50 percent water rate hike is on the table as the city of Ukiah ponders how to cover the cost of its water system.

The city hired HF&H Consultants of Walnut Creek to prepare a water rate plan for the next five years. The plan is a model designed to give the Ukiah City Council an idea how to cover its expenses and adjust rates accordingly, and is subject to change.

HF&H Senior Vice President John Farnkopf presented the rate model during a Wednesday night workshop, during which the city discussed how to pay off its debt, the lack of growth, and the effect of water conservation on water revenue, among other concepts.

"The rate payers won't be happy because they'll be paying more and getting less," Farnkopf said of the rate hikes the model included.

It outlines projected revenue from a 50 percent increase in 2010-11, a 13 percent increase in 2011-12, a 9 percent increase in 2012-13, a 7 percent increase in 2013-14, and a 2 percent increase in 2014-15.

By 2015, the model shows the cost to a rate payer for a unit of water - 100 cubic feet, or 748 gallons - would go from $1.29 to $2.60.

It should make for an interesting discussion in the council meetings.