WHEN DAVID Fockler found out the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District was offering a $100 rebate for customers who install high-efficiency tankless water heaters, he jumped on the chance to cash in.
“I thought, ‘100 bucks, that will buy dinner,’” Fockler told The Pine Cone.

So Fockler purchased a new $1,600 water heater for a rental unit, filled out the paperwork and mailed it to the water district for the rebate. But the response he got wasn’t what he had hoped for. There was no check — only a request by the district for money.

“We received a letter stating that the MPWMD believes the house is not in water-conservation compliance,” Fockler said, “and therefore needs to be inspected by them for a fee of $255 before they could process the rebate. Huh?”

All of a sudden, the $100 Fockler hoped on getting back turned out to be $155 he would end up owing the water district.

“It was like opening Pandora’s box,” he said. “I don’t want to let those guys in the house.”

Fockler said he’s not sure how the house isn’t in compliance. He said the water fixtures in the 850-square-foot, two-bedroom, one-bathroom rental unit on Wanda in Seaside were updated when his wife’s family took over the home after her mother, who lived there, died.

In Fockler’s case, according to water demand manager Stephanie Pintar, in 2003, the district sent several notices to Fockler’s wife’s family requesting they contact the district to “verify compliance” of the water-saving devices in the house. When the district didn’t hear back, it recorded a “Notice of Non-Compliance” on the house’s deed, which means it can’t be sold without the water district’s OK.

“Our rules for the rebate program do say you have to be in compliance with district rules,” Pintar explained.

“My wife’s sister was handling their mother’s affairs,” Fockler said. “It is possible that the notice was ignored. It begs the question of how a notice of noncompliance can be filed without an inspection ... guilty until you prove your innocence? And if they wanted $255, then no wonder it was ignored. What is happening to friendly, customer-based government?”

While Pintar acknowledged that the fixtures in the Fockler’s rental home may be up to date, she said water district officials need to verify that. And they can only do that by personally inspecting the home.

“By not doing that, that [deed restriction] notice will remain on the title,” she said. “And  when they sell the property, they will have to clear it.” 

Pintar said Fockler’s tale is atypical, and that the issue he faced only occurs in about 1 percent of the cases. The district hands out hundreds of rebates each year.

However, Pintar said the district rejects about 25 percent of the rebate requests it receives, often because those applying do not live within the services areas of the water district or water provider, California American Water.

The water district’s rebate program is paid for by water customers themselves via a monthly surcharge tacked onto water bills. Apart from paying $200 for customers to install new efficient toilets, the district offers numerous other rebates, including $500 to replace old clothes washers with a new, water-saving models. But only if you’re also otherwise in compliance with the water district’s rules.