Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
August 29, 2007
5. Agencies, Programs, People
FLOOD CONTROL PROJECT:
Corps to move up Napa Creek work by 3 years; Creekside neighbors say concession not enough for flood-weary residents -
MANAGEMENT CHANGE:
IID begins sweeping management changes - Imperial Valley Press
ELECTION:
Rural water district board elected - Vacaville Reporter
8/28/07 – Programs, Agencies, and People
WATER SYSTEM INFRASTRUCTURE:
City officials hope to upgrade aging water system; Interim city manager warns city council about dangers of inadequate infrastructure - Los Banos Enterprise
American River to be split at dam site - Auburn Journal
FLOOD CONTROL PROJECT:
Corps to move up Napa Creek work by 3 years; Creekside neighbors say concession not enough for flood-weary residents
By Kevin Courtney, staff writer
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is willing to move up the construction of flood defenses on Napa Creek by three years, but that is still not as soon as creek residents want.
Residents had wanted the corps to start creek work next year, at the same time that construction is scheduled to begin on the first of two new railroad bridges in the Napa River Oxbow.
In a letter sent to the local flood district last week, Brandon C. Muncy, chief of the corps’ civil works branch in
It makes more sense, Muncy said, to first build a replacement bridge over the river and a new one over the planned flood bypass channel — a two-year effort — and then to tackle the creek at the same time as the digging of the bypass in 2010.
Construction of culverts and flood terraces along the creek could be tied to the bypass contract, with the creek work starting first, Muncy said.
Napa Mayor Jill Techel, who chairs the local flood board, called the corps’ proposal a “real step forward.” As things now stand, work on Napa Creek isn’t scheduled to begin until 2013.
“It’s a real win-win, given what we can control,” Techel said of the corps’ willingness to meet
Linda Kerr, leader of the neighborhood group, In Harm’s Way, said Muncy’s proposed schedule was not good enough. “It is just unacceptable that (Napa Creek) is being pushed off into the future. We need a fix now,” she said Monday.
In Harm’s Way had hoped that the corps could siphon off some federal money from the railroad contract to start Napa Creek construction within a year or two.
If the railroad construction has to occur first, then Napa Creek should be the absolute first priority afterward, before any attempt is made to dig the bypass channel, Kerr said.
Residents along Napa Creek north of downtown argue that the creek, which has flooded eight times in 12 years, is a greater menace than the river, which floods a wider area but does so less often.
Given how federal funding has lagged, Kerr said the railroad work, scheduled to occur in 2008 and 2009, could take four or five years. Creek residents could flood another time or two in the meantime, she said.
Heather Stanton, director of the local flood project, conceded the revised schedule, as suggested by Muncy, depends on the federal government giving the corps the money it needs.
If Congress and the president continue to underfund the
Constructing two new railroad bridges and moving Napa Valley Wine Train’s tracks is estimated to cost $40 million, which would require a $20 million federal allocation in each of the next two years,
The president and Congress are currently talking about allocating between $7.5 million and $11 million next year,
Napa Creek and the bypass are each estimated to cost between $15 million and $20 million.
In his letter, Muncy said the creek could be folded into the bypass contract in 2010 “in a manner that emphasizes the commencement of the Napa Creek work first, while ensuring proper guidelines are followed with respect to government contracting.”
There is no assurance, Kerr said, that the creek project, which could be accomplished in two years if full funding were available, won’t limp along over many years, with most of the annual federal allocation siphoned off for the bypass.
The city has applied for a FEMA hazard mitigation grant that would cover $3 million of the estimated $5 million to install culverts on the lower reach of the creek near
If the grant is awarded, the lower culverts could potentially be built in 2009, thus reducing the amount of future work on the creek.
The local flood district is applying for additional grants to fully pay for the lower culverts,
In Harm’s Way is suggesting that
Local officials will make another trip to
If the corps gets only half of what it needs for railroad work next year, then it would build half a railroad bridge over the future bypass and complete it the following year before moving to replace the current river bridge, she said.
This expensive rail work is not for Wine Train’s benefit,
The local flood board, which supports the federal flood project, is scheduled to meet Sept. 11 to discuss Muncy’s letter.
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2007/08/29/news/local/doc46d47bda782be600622132.txt
MANAGEMENT CHANGE:
IID begins sweeping management changes
By Darren Simon, staff writer
In the aftermath of an energy-trading controversy, the Imperial Irrigation District has started to implement sweeping organizational changes to tighten spending and prevent management breakdowns.
This week Elston Grubaugh, IID’s acting general manager, announced the creation of an interim chief operating officer position to oversee changes in budget and department controls.
Mike Campbell, the district’s information technology chief, was named the interim chief operating officer.
“Mike Campbell has the background and experience to make an immediate impact on the way we do business at IID,” Grubaugh said.
“I will be relying on him to work with department heads in creating an organizational model that features strong financial controls, improved efficiencies and ethical reporting throughout the enterprise,” Grubaugh said.
Also, Grubaugh said in coming weeks he will announce other interim management changes, including having a new office of project management to head what the district is calling independent project management in both the water and energy departments.
The new COO position and other changes will all be on interim status until a permanent general manager is named.
Grubaugh, the district’s assistant general manager, was named acting general manager in July when the board fired then-general manager Charles Hosken less than two years into his three-year contract.
Board members have been quiet as to their reasons for ending Hosken’s contract, but some board members have said changes in the district, like better communication and more efficiency, were not happening fast enough.
All the changes come as the district has faced scrutiny from both the Board of Directors and the public over an energy-trading scandal that cost the district and its ratepayers millions of dollars.
The scandal involved a 2005 natural gas-hedging program created to avoid the soaring cost of natural gas on the spot market in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
In hedging, or turning to the futures market, however, at least one IID energy-trader violated policies and spent beyond parameters and an investigation by a private
During the summer as the investigation into the flawed hedging program moved forward, the district board also pushed for a stronger set of policies that would govern the board and district management.
Board members voiced concern over a lack of project management or other internal controls that would make the district more efficient and lead to tighter spending.
IID Director James Hanks said the COO position is critical in helping with the day-to-day district functions to free up the general manager to focus on such critical issues, like the water imbalance the district is facing.
“We have so many issues the general manager had to deal with what we call critical issues,” Hanks said.
He said of the COO position: “It’s really designated to take some pressure off the general manager.”
Campbell, who lives in Imperial, came to IID from
“I appreciate the confidence that the acting general manager and board have shown in me,”
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2007/08/29/news/news03.txt
ELECTION:
Rural water district board elected
With 157 ballots cast and tabulated Tuesday night, a retired peace officer, a vending service manager, a retired airline pilot, a retired physician and an engineering technician prevailed in the Rural North Vacaville Water District election Tuesday night.
By mail-in vote, voters chose which of seven candidates would fill the five seats available on the district's Board of Directors.
The winners will take over the job of running the district from the Solano County Board of Supervisors, which has acted as the board of directors since the district's inception in 1996.
The election, which offered a possible 539 possible ballots, ended with engineering technician Patricia Landis at the top of the heap with 131 votes. She was followed by retired airline pilot Bob Whitehouse with 127 votes. Retired peace officer Jim Mortensen placed third with 121 votes.
Retired physician Martin Joye and vending service manager Carl Fowler, with 104 votes and 99 votes, respectively, round out the new panel. Retiree Jerry Bass, with 42 votes, and parole administrator Benjamin De Groot, with 76 votes, were not selected.
Landis, 54, said in her candidate statement, "As a director, I would work for the continued viability of our public water system.
This would include assurance of the quality and availability of the water provided as well as the affordability and maintenance of the system."
Whitehouse, 63, said in his statement, "The water district is now fully operational and has met all of its initial goals." However, he said, that "it must be actively managed" to stay reliable.
Mortensen, who has served on the Solano County Grand Jury and on the board of the English Hills Homeowners Association, wrote that he is eager to participate "in the decision-making process that will ensure a quality water source at reasonable and affordable cost to the residents of the district."
The water district serves 125 customers within approximately 22 square miles in the English and Steiger Hills areas. Voters opted to select an independent board during an election in 2005.
The district faced its latest struggle when rate hikes were proposed in the spring. Enough opponents came forward to derail the adjustments, which district operators said were needed to cover the increasing cost of doing business.
The new board members will take office in December. #
http://www.thereporter.com//ci_6748970?IADID=Search-www.thereporter.com-www.thereporter.com
8/28/07 – Programs, Agencies, and People
WATER SYSTEM INFRASTRUCTURE:
City officials hope to upgrade aging water system; Interim city manager warns city council about dangers of inadequate infrastructure
Los Banos
By Andrew Green, staff writer
The city council directed staff Thursday to commence plans for a 500,000 gallon storage tank and begin a cost-budget analysis for local usage fees. Mayor Rich Ford said the orders are the first stages for a complete overhaul of the city's water system.
He said long-term plans for the overhaul will include the ground-level storage tank with booster pump, a new well and prospects for nitrate treatment. A site for the tank has not been found yet, nor has the total cost been calculated, Ford said.
"We basically directed staff to proceed with plans for the tank, begin a cost-budget analysis and look into well head treatment, although that's not in the near future. We'll have to do a cost-estimate fee structure before we can do the nitrate treatment," Ford said.
Interim city manager Robert VanNort said increased storage capacity and a new well are top infrastructure priorities. The city's current well is 65 years old, he said. The average life span of a well being about 50 years.
VanNort said the tank and booster pump will also be needed as the city grows, since the city currently has what he called a minimal storage capacity.
"The tank creates a greater capability to fight a fire, but if you have a well with no storage it doesn't provide backup," he said.
"When you have a high-peak demand period in the evening when everybody takes a shower and washes their dishes, you have storage where people can use it and it wont put that much of a strain on the wells."
Although he stressed the need to also monitor the city's slowly increasing nitrate levels, VanNort said the local water is still safe to drink and such a problem isn't an immediate priority.
Ford admitted that such improvements will likely affect local fees, including usage rates for residences, businesses and industry.
City staff has begun calculating the costs of the updates and will report how much will be needed for the projects, he said.
VanNort said any resulting fee increases will likely be shared between residents, developers and future city annexations.
"We need to address it because nobody has ever addressed it. The rates just take care of daily operation and maintenance right now, but as we improve the infrastructure we need to study and develop a plan that's going to include everybody. That takes time," he said. #
http://www.losbanosenterprise.com/local/story/13933964p-14497441c.html
Auburn Journal – 8/27/07
By Gus Thomson, staff writer
The
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Placer County Water Agency are finalizing plans, with no set date yet, to knock down an earthen cofferdam.
That will send a portion of the
Jeff McCracken, a spokesman for the bureau's Folsom office, said that water would continue to also flow through the half-mile-long diversion tunnel through the site, creating temporary twin forks.
The river will return to a single fork in the late summer or early fall when rock is pushed over the tunnel's inlets and outlets. The tunnel was built in the early 1970s while construction was still taking place on the
McCracken said that for safety and security reasons, it's important for rafters and boaters to stay away from the stretch of the river going through the construction site. As well, flows will not be high, he said.
"We're encouraging people to stay clear," he said. "There won't be full flows until they close the tunnel."
River boating through the dam site is slated to be allowed through the dam site next year, after being an out-of-bounds area since construction started on the dam in the late 1960s.
Signs are posted prohibiting boating near the site and recreational use of the canyon on a trail through the construction zone is only allowed on Sundays.
"We don't want people to think the river is open to rafting," McCracken said.
http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2007/08/28/news/top_stories/05riversplit28.txt
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