Oceanside's plan to start charging for the water that fills Whelan Lake could have dire consequences for an out-of-the-way but much-loved oasis for local bird-watchers, according to the group that owns the property, reports the North County Times.
Starting June 1, the city will begin sending a water bill to the nonprofit Whelan Lake Bird Sanctuary, a former dairy farm on the northeastern edge of Oceanside, near Camp Pendleton and the city's main waste water treatment plant.
The lake has received free recycled water from the treatment plant since 1958, when the property was still operated by former owner Ellen Douglas Whelan, according to a city document.
