Claim: Peninsula ratepayers will get stuck with legal costs. Claremont’s experience proves it.

Facts: Cal Am likes to cite Claremont as an example of a public buyout that failed and cost ratepayers in legal fees. The truth is there have been over 400 successful public water buyouts over the past 25 years in the United States. Only one or two cases have failed, Claremont being one of them. It is rare for a public agency to fail in a public buyout.