A guest commentary titled “Government Takeovers of Water Systems Don’t Deliver Results” by David Sosa, Analysis Group Principal, was published in the April 7 edition of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Referencing the City of Claremont’s recent attempt to take ownership of Golden State Water Company’s water system through an eminent domain proceeding, Sosa noted, “This story jumped off the page at me, because it affirmed the findings of a study my team had just completed.”
Analysis Group’s study, “The Economic Consequences of Contested Government Takeovers of Investor-Owned Water Utilities”, was commissioned by the California Water Association and featured in the January 2017 edition of On Tap. According to Sosa’s commentary, the research “demonstrates that time and again government takeovers don’t deliver the benefits promised. Contested takeovers are very costly for the acquiring government entity, and water and tax bills under government ownership are higher than promised by the takeover advocates. Unfortunately, by that point, it’s too late to go back and prevent the costs from being incurred.”
