A representative from the court-appointed receiver's office said some system improvements have been implemented, but long-term stability for Big Basin Water Co. is still an open question even after the water provider, with help from the county, won more than $1 million in grant funding from local, state and federal authorities since November.
"Without this funding . more than 500 households could have been without drinking water within a couple of months," said Supervisor Bruce McPherson at Tuesday's county Board of Supervisors meeting where the grant was formally accepted.
According to a summary of the judgment provided to Big Basin customers by the Central Coast Water Board, the Moore's have been prohibited from ever operating, managing or owning a wastewater system in the future and are personally liable for up to $750,000 in civil penalties.
Until about a week ago, the company, long plagued by leaks and outages, had been trucking in about five to 10 loads of water every day just to keep its customers afloat despite the high cost and inefficiency of such a system. Each load contains 4,000 gallons of water.
Santa Cruz County officials told the Sentinel Monday the county was stepping in with short-term funding to ensure the system stays up and running and shared the same in a message to Big Basin customers on Friday using its emergency communications platform, Cruz Aware.