Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
October 7, 2008
5. Agencies, Programs, People –
Yubanet.com
Sacramento
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Yubanet.com – 10/3/08
At Nevada Irrigation District's recent board meeting, General Manager Ron Nelson announced that the state does not plan - at this time - to take any property tax revenues normally allocated to agencies like NID.
But that doesn't guarantee when the governor sits down with his advisors early next year to reanalyze the newly approved budget that these revenues won't once again become a tantalizing target.
In recent years water districts have seen a significant portion of their property tax revenues reallocated to help fund the state's obligation to schools through the Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF).
And earlier this year the State Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) released an alternative budget that called for a shift away from aiding
NID relies on property tax revenues to keep rates lower than the current cost of service to both its treated and raw water customers.
NID Proceeds with E. George Expansion Project
A $14,795,000 construction contract with an additional $50,000 change order was awarded by the district's board to Santa Rosa CA-based Western Water Constructors for NID's proposed expansion project at the Elizabeth George Water Treatment Plant (WTP) on
According to NID, the facility will run out of capacity in 2010.
The additional $50,000 change order is for upgrading of a trash rack.
Director Nancy Weber reminded NID staff that several residences are in close vicinity to the trash rack and voiced concerns that noise would be a factor.
NID Senior Engineer Adrian Schneider acknowledged that the location of the trash rack is very exposed and assured Weber that a quieter model would be installed.
Costs Mount on Banner Cascade Project
While a recently requested change order would add an additional $324,000 to the Lower Cascade Canal/Banner Cascade Pipeline Project, NID Special Projects Manager Brian Powell informed the board that such a scope change might save the district $1.3 million in future construction costs.
At issue is the aging 40-year old Techite Clipper Creek siphon. An NID staff report states that the siphon poses "an inherent risk to the district and to the environment in this area."
And according to NID Chief Engineer Gary King, problems with the pipe could arise sooner than later. "At one point ultimately in the next 10 years NID would have to do something with the Techite pipe. The risk is there," King advised district directors. "We are just trying to move the future problem forward before it gets to us."
But the project would include additional environmental permitting and right-of-way work. And Director Scott Miller questioned whether these potential issues could delay the overall Banner Cascade project.
"We are positive that the ROE (Right of Entry) process will be cleaner, quicker, because people are cooperative," Powell advised Miller and the Board. In addition, according to Powell, a scope change on Clipper Creek would not necessarily mean opening a new EIR process.
He also added that if it became clear that some kind of EIR would be required, then the siphon replacement project could be separated out from the larger Lower Cascade project. "We hope both projects can converge. But if Banner Cascade is ready for bid, we will take it to bid."
Powell assured the board that staff's goal is to keep the Lower Cascade project moving forward.
Director Nancy Weber queried Powell on whether replacement of the Clipper Creek siphon would provide opportunities for people to obtain water in the vicinity of the proposed project. "There are people up there who want water, they are organizing," Weber said.
She pointed to residents like the Payes' up on
Powell informed the board that NID currently can't provide water off the Clipper Creek siphon. But the proposed siphon replacement would enable the district to provide water to people in areas like the
Mitigation Banking: Good for the Environment or End-Run around CEQA?
As part of a major cleaning and restoration project at NID's Rex and Union reservoirs, the district recently unveiled four potential land management options which include creating mitigation/conservation banks.
NID Associate Engineer Keane Sommers offered board members a preview of how the district plans on approaching short and long term management of its 19 smaller reservoirs. Project goals include restoring capacity lost due to sedimentation, addressing geotechnical concerns and improving facilities where necessary.
The district will also be looking at various biological and habitat mitigation opportunities, both on-site and for future NID projects.
Through land conservation (setting aside land in perpetuity through easements), enhancement (increasing or improving existing habitats), and creation (converting land from one habitat type to another) at NID's smaller reservoirs like Rex and Union, the district can amass or "bank" potential "mitigation credits" that can be used to offset environmental impacts on future NID projects.
"The benefits of mitigation banking," NID Sommers pointed out, "is that it's another tool box to get through CEQA."
Which raises the obvious question: With mitigation credits on file, will NID prioritize on-site mitigation of environmental impacts relative to current and future projects?
Mitigation credits can only be determined by certain resource agencies like the Department of Fish and Game or the Army Corps of Engineers, not NID.
While creating a mitigation/conservation bank is one potential land management option, an assessment of each individual reservoir cleanup project will determine if mitigation banking would be feasible at each site.
Continuing current operation and maintenance, establishing an NID preserve, or developing a programmatic or project-specific mitigation plan are three other potential land management options NID would also consider at each reservoir.
Janelle Nolan-Summers with Robertson-Bryan, Inc., specialists in water and power resources, told board members that certain types of habitat such as wetlands garner higher credits. "We fully expect that there will be different values associated with Rex versus Union Reservoir," Nolan said.
She also acknowledged that as you proceed from strictly preservation as an option to looking at creating mitigation banking, the cost of the process increases.
NID plans to investigate available outside funding sources (grants) that would help with some restoration and enhancement costs.
Other site-specific goals include maintaining good stewardship of natural and cultural resources, providing opportunities for public outreach and education, and enhancing relationships with federal and state agencies, local governments and NGO's.
Positive Numbers for District Carryover, But Rain Still Critical in 2009
In spite of the fact NID's current water reserves are below a 40-year average, the district claims it has done well in maintaining its overall storage levels.
Staff informed the board that the water district does not face any critical capacity issues and carryover storage into 2009 will still be strong relative to other regions in
Nevertheless, NID's carryover storage will likely run roughly 8-12,000 acre feet below average. And without sufficient precipitation this winter, NID could be facing severe shortages in 2009.
FERC instream studies will cost the district about 3500 acre feet in 2008 due to scheduled additional releases into the South and
"We have had to purchase more water from them in previous years," says NID Operations Supervisor Sue Sindt. This is an indication that NID has definitely weathered this year's drought conditions better than other water agencies. Still, without sufficient precipitation this winter NID could be facing severe shortages next spring when the seasonal irrigation season begins.
As of September NID's storage was at 157,000 acre feet, 94 per cent of average.
2008 Fall Water Deliveries Update
While NID provides year round service to its treated water customers, raw water deliveries are often seasonal.
The fall water delivery season normally runs three months, terminating on December 1. Last week, NID's board unanimously approved to make fall water available. These water sales typically go to customers who do fall planting, fertilize later in the year, or use water to maintain pond levels until the onset of winter rains. NID always offers fall water but tries to limit these sales in an effort to conserve water.
According to Sindt, the district provides fall water deliveries in those canals where NID has historically sold winter water.
Last year NID fall water deliveries totaled 278 acre feet.
Water Releases Culminate This Week on
Working to accommodate instream flow studies as part of its ongoing FERC relicensing project, NID began additional water releases on September 29 to the Middle Yuba. Releases into the river below Milton Reservoir will range between 170 and 40 cfs (cubic feet per second).
Stakeholders involved in the FERC studies originally wanted higher releases. But the presence of more water downstream allowed for a cutback from the originally requested 190 cfs.
Higher releases are scheduled to continue until October 7, at which point flows will be reduced to 80 cfs. Further reductions will occur until October 11 when flows are returned to seasonal levels.
Flows in the
With instream studies anticipated next year on the
The October 8 NID board meeting has been canceled. The next regular meeting will be held at 9 a.m. on October 22 at the
Sacramento
Sacramento
By Ed Fletcher, staff writer
District officials are recommending that the Sacramento Area Sewer District board spend millions of dollars installing new hardware and cleaning lines to prevent costly sewage overflows.
The recommendation – which will be presented formally at the board's meeting Wednesday – comes in response to a sharp increase in the amount the district is paying for cleaning up sewage backups in homes and amid lingering questions about suspicious contracting.
In recent years, the number of claims against the district – most often a result of raw sewage spilling into a home – has tripled. In 2007, the district paid $3.1 million in settlements.
Board members said there is reason for concern.
"Ratepayers need to know that their money is being spent appropriately," said Susan Peters, a
Earlier this year, a handful of Sacramento-area plumbers sought to blow the whistle on what they believed were cases of inappropriate billing by district employees.
Christoph Dobson, the district's collections system chief, said those accusations were unfounded.
Nonetheless, the district has to address physical issues with the system, concerns about its process for dealing with backups and questions about overbilling, he said.
Last month, district officials said an auditor had been hired to shadow staff and contractors at the beginning of a cleanup.
The goal of that effort is to ensure costs aren't being inflated in the cleanup process.
"If there are some cost savings in there, I'm pretty confident we'll find them," Dobson said.
In late 2007, a consultant recommended the district give less power to a third-party adjuster for assessing and dealing with problems.
A third audit will look at the cost of restoring homes after an overflow, Dobson said.
The stepped-up effort to address infrastructure issues is already under way and within the current year's budget, Dobson said. But he said he couldn't rule out future rate increases.
Since spring, the district targeted 1,200 hot spots for contractors to install curbside clear-outs, inspect the home's connection to the main line, and either clean, repair or replace the connection.
Dobson said he'll recommend the district continue with that plan, and over the next 10 years as claims costs go down, use those extra funds to increase proactive maintenance. Under that plan, the district would spend about $10 million annually on claims, installing new clear-outs, and cleaning or repairing connections.
The plan would be to target areas with older pipes and thicker tree coverage first.
Responsibility for maintaining pipes that connect individual homes to the public sewer main is shared by the county and the property owner.
If a blockage occurs on the district's portion of the connection, it clears the blockage and deals with the damage.
Another key change Dobson will recommend is replacing the caps topping curbside clear-outs with valves that can release overflows.
The idea is to allow the sewage backup to spill into homeowners' yards, rather than into homes.
The ratepayer-funded agency is governed by a 10-member board made up of the five county supervisors and one representative each from the cities of Sacramento, Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, Citrus Heights and Folsom.
Supervisor Roger Dickinson, who is also a board member, said it's important to find the balance between being "appropriately sympathetic" to customers while not responding to problems that aren't the district's.
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1293797.html
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