Blog site creates controversy among public water officials

Idyllwild Town Crier ^ | December 23, 2004 | By J.P. Crumrine

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“Once again, on Nov. 8, I was discouraged by the Web pages. After reading [the site], I was upset and discouraged by many comments,” said Jerry Holldber, Pine Cove Water District general manager.

The Web site — a Web blog — was created this summer to foster a community dialogue over the proposal to combine the three local water districts — Fern Valley (FVWD), Idyllwild (IWD) and Pine Cove (PCWD).

A “blog” is defined as a frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links. A blog is a Web page that serves as a publicly accessible personal journal for an individual and often reflects the personality of the author.

The author of the Web blog, “Hill Water Issues,” is William Protzmann of Idyllwild. While he was the formulator of the site, Allan Morphett, IWD director, has been listed as a contributor.

Readers of the comments and material posted by Protzmann were invited to respond with their own views or opinions on the issues or topics. Only one person — William Bangham, FVWD director — took advantage of this opportunity.

In the Nov. 8 posting, Protzmann criticized both FVWD and PCWD. In particular, he suggested that PCWD’s recent filtration plant was ineffective and that PCWD was pumping water to IWD for treatment.

On Nov. 16, Holldber provided a memorandum to his board of directors refuting the allegations; however, he says he has not been able to speak to Protzmann about the allegations.

Since the posting addressed water district activities, Holldber and others assumed Morphett either wrote the posting or provided the background to Protzmann.

At the Dec. 15 San Jacinto Mountain Area Water Study Agency (WSA) meeting, Holldber confronted Morphett.

“Supposedly, we are working together as three districts,” Holldber said. “I ask Allan Morphett where do you get this information?”

“I have no idea what you are discussing. It is not me,” Morphett replied.

At this point, FVWD General Manager Steve Erler joined the discussion. “Anyone can write garbage on a blog,” he said. “But you’re a public official and your name is there as a contributor.

“You must concur as a participant without researching the facts … It’s misleading and demonizing FVWD and PCWD,” Erler charged.

“I have not concurred. I know nothing about what was written,” Morphett replied emphatically.

By Thursday, Morphett’s name was deleted from the contributors’ list on the site.

“This is a site for public information on water issues,” Protzmann said. “However, there is a different standard [for a blog] than for journalism. In terms of real facts, what is said or written by all can be seen. For example, if someone alleges the IWD Feasibility Study [of unifying the three districts] is full of falsehoods, that is the same as saying FVWD was cited [for water violations].

“It is up to the journalists to substantiate what is circulating in the community,” Protzmann averred.

As an example, the following was posted on the blog Sunday, Dec. 19: “Fern Valley Water District has blocked their e-mail from receipt of messages related to this blog.”

According to Suellen Bidwell, FVWD office manager, in the last month, the district has changed its web server and e-mail address, and is not blocking reception of messages. The former host is closing its business. The district’s new e-mail address is fvwd@fvwd.org.

Changing e-mail providers is not the same as blocking reception of messages.

Protzmann emphasized that he was responsible for the editorial content of the site and that Morphett was not a collaborator on the material. “The way the blog site works, one has to ask to be listed as a contributor. Bill Bangham is not a contributor, but he responded to a comment and it was posted,” Protzmann said.

“Allan Morphett getting dragged through the mud as a contributor is not fair,” he added.

According to Protzmann, a contributor is an individual who identifies themselves to the blog site and then automatically receives the new postings.

“It does not automatically mean that they have authored any of the essays on the blog,” Protzmann wrote on Sunday. “At the moment, the only ‘contributor’ to the blog who has actually posted to it is yours truly [Protzmann].”

Nevertheless, Holldber felt it was necessary to discuss this controversy in a public forum. “This is not the first time Allan Morphett made false statements about me and my district,” Holldber said. “The only way to get my point across was to do it at a public meeting.”

Protzmann has no plans to abandon the site as purveyor of information and opinions on water issues affecting the community. “It’s great we’re getting attention,” he said. “Many, many people are reading and engaging on the content; now we’re waiting for the next major event.”