Motel owners acknowledge water debt

Owners of El Moro Motel apparently acknowledged irregularities in their water supply and use, said the director of auditing company Fisamex, Manuel García.

The managers of the motel, located in Cetys de Mexicali road, reportedly disavowed statements from their legal counsel denying a debt with a state agency. According the person in charge of audits, they said are willing to pay and offer public apologies for what was published in a Mexicali newspaper.

García said the motel’s lawyer, Alejandro Velázquez García, denied the theft of water, stating that the business was practically forced to resort to irrigation module number 16 because 21 years ago the infrastructure of Mexicali Public Utilities Commission (CESPM) was insufficient to serve the area where the motel is located.

García noted there have been several anomalies since the motel entered the contract to obtain water from module 16 of the irrigation district, which covers the right bank of the Colorado River. That contract requires water must not be used in any activity other than the one for which it was authorized, in this case agricultural irrigation.

State water law mandates that companies must contract with CESPM once the network is built.

García added that the lawyer tried to refute the motel’s responsibility for a debt of 5.4 million pesos, or about $257,142.

However, after having met the business management, the parties agreed the motel does owe fees for contracting water intake and connection to the sanitary drainage system for wastewater discharge.

Garcia has been designated by the state as the responsible party for the audits carried out by the firm of the commercial and industrial accounts of the State Commission of Public Services of Mexicali, Ensenada, Tecate and Tijuana. The objective is to combat theft of water that allegedly led to the bankruptcy of the water and drainage operating agencies in Baja California.