Activist group Public Water Now tells Cal Am: Time to sell and get out of the way.

California American Water’s role as the Peninsula’s water provider just became a shade less certain, as the community group Public Water Now (PWN) – which proposes a public buyout of Cal Am – announced Jan. 3 it gathered enough signatures to get a buyout initiative on the ballot in June.

Speaking outside the offices of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD), PWN Managing Director Ron Cohen rallied the several dozen volunteers in attendance. The grassroots effort not only reached the necessary 5,600 signatures required for the ballot initiative in June, it exceeded that number with over 8,300 signatures.

“We are determined, we are focused, and we are going to take control of our water,” Cohen says. “This initiative will be the defining issue for generations to come.”

MPWMD General Manager Dave Stoldt says if the initiative passes, the district would conduct a feasibility analysis for the buyout, a step that Cohen is confident will fall in PWN’s favor.

“Peninsula voters will finally be able to become water owners,” Cohen says. The message to Cal Am, he adds: “Sell your company and get out of the way.”