Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
May 25, 2007
5. Agencies, Programs, People
FLOOD PLAIN MAPS:
September release likely for flood plain maps - Stockton Record
PUMP STATION PROJECT:
RATE HIKES:
Elsinore Valley water board approves rate hikes - North County Times
FLOOD PLAIN MAPS:
September release likely for flood plain maps
Flood plain maps that could require
Under that timeline, it would be September 2008 before flood insurance could become a requirement in flood-prone areas, the spokesman said.
FEMA officials met Thursday with local flood-control experts for an update on the process leading up to the release of the long-awaited maps.
The question right now is which of San Joaquin's levees will be granted "provisional accreditation" - in other words, levees that have been shown in the past to provide 100-year flood protection but for which new documentation and data are required for full accreditation in the future.
Gaining provisional accreditation would give flood-control officials two years to prove their levees meet the flood-safety standard. However, getting that accreditation may prove problematic on some levees because it requires the approval of the levees' owners, including the state government, said
"To me, it's not a good situation," Nomellini said Thursday. #
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070525/A_NEWS/705250328
PUMP STATION PROJECT:
Santa Clarita Signal – 5/25/07
By Katherine Geyer, staff writer
Operating costs for a
Annual operating costs for a pump station that will pump water to the Sand Canyon Pipeline and Reservoir were expected to be about $100,000 when the agency originally planned the project. But because of a rise in electrical costs, the pump station could cost up to $700,000 a year to operate, CLWA officials announced at the board of directors meeting on Wednesday.
The Sand Canyon Pipeline and Reservoir project will deliver 7 million gallons of water from the State Water Project to the east side of the valley, where groundwater wells dry up first.
"We hadn't run the pumps until a month or two ago to do their testing on startups," Brian Folsom, the agency's engineering and operations manager, said Thursday. "Then (Southern California)
Folsom said that the findings are preliminary and the agency is looking into ways to reduce the amount of electricity the pumps use.
"A lot of it is just how and when we will operate the pump station, we'll be able to bring those costs down," he said. "It may not end up being $700,000, but it's going to be more than $100,000."
He said that the operating costs tend to fluctuate depending on the time of day the station is used.
"Using it in the middle of the afternoon, it's peak rates," he said. "We would try to look for ways to schedule our pumping at nights during the lowest electrical usage rates."
He said that it is also more expensive when all of the pumps are being used at once, rather than operating one pump at a time.
"They have lots of ups and downs on the grid, so that factors into the electrical rates."
The Sand Canyon Pipeline and Reservoir project, which began in 2005, has been delayed numerous times due to inclement weather and problems with the potential leaks in the reservoir.
The project is expected to be completed by summer and once the project is complete, the agency will have major pipelines running through every section of the valley. #
http://www.the-signal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=48565&format=html
RATE HIKES:
By Jose Carvajal, staff writer
LAKE ELSINORE ---- Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District board members reluctantly approved the highest water- and sewer-service rate increases in the agency's history Thursday, saying they were forced to do so because of increasing electricity, imported water and operations costs.
The board voted 4-1 for the rate hikes, with member Phil Williams dissenting, while approving budget plans for the year starting July 1 and the 2008-09 fiscal year that total $98 million.
At the suggestion of member Judy Guglielmana, the board also agreed to revisit the first round of rate increases in January to see whether the budget situation improves and the increases can be scaled back.
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In the end, board members said, the hikes ---- which will lead to the highest dollar-amount increases in district history and are projected to add about $20 to a customer's monthly bill ---- were being forced upon them.
The district has tried to save money wherever it can, member Harvey Ryan said, but still can't make up for rising costs. Passing the rate increases is the only way the district can continue to conduct good business, he said.
"It's a tough decision to make at this point," he said. "At this point, we have exhausted what I feel are our options."
Even Williams said before the vote that the boosts were necessary. He would later say that he voted against the increases partly because he promised his constituents in
"I've been through the budget and I don't know where we're able to hold these back," he said.
In July, according to the rate structures approved Thursday, the district's customers would pay, on average, about 10 percent more for water and between 10 percent and 16 percent more for sewer service. The following July, water rates would go up another 6 percent to 7 percent and sewer rates would rise another 10 percent to 11 percent.
The board is also increasing the monthly power fee charged to customers. Depending on where they live, they will see an increase between 31 percent and 160 percent, though the biggest increase amounts to an extra 20 cents per every 100 cubic feet of water consumed.
District officials blame much of the increases on higher electricity and imported water bills. The district expects it is going to spend $3.1 million more on electricity to power its facilities over the next two years than this year and $3 million more in importing water.
Higher chemical treatment and biosolid removal costs are also playing a part, the officials said.
But such explanations weren't enough for a handful of district opponents who spoke at the meeting. Several of them criticized the increases and questioned whether the district had done everything it could to prevent them. Others criticized the district for what they saw as frivolous spending practices.
Former board member Chris Hyland said the district could save money by limiting employee and board member travel. She questioned whether it was necessary for the district to spend thousands of dollars a year sending employees and board members as far away as the East Coast.
"The district has lobbyists in
To that, board members responded that many of those trips netted the district grants and other funding that are helping to save millions of dollars, such as a solar power project that is estimated to save $181,000 a year in electricity costs.
Another customer, Murrieta resident Paula Thompson, said the higher rates would place a significant burden on her.
"I think the increase, especially for a senior citizen on a fixed budget, is just astronomical," she said. #
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/05/25/news/californian/21_47_355_24_07.txt
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