[Water_news] 5. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: AGENCIES, PROGRAMS, PEOPLE - 4/28/09

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

April 28, 2009

 

5. Agencies, Programs, People –

 

Recycled-water reservoir idea pushed

The Sacramento Bee

 

City protests rate hike; we all should, too

The Antelope Valley Press

 

Water district shows support for EBMUD plan

The Calaveras Enterprise

 

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Recycled-water reservoir idea pushed

The Sacramento Bee – 4/28/09

By Cathy Locke

Being green doesn't come cheap, but El Dorado Irrigation District officials were urged Monday not to let costs derail plans to expand the district's recycled-water system.

 

"This is your opportunity to save thousands of acre-feet of water forever," said Albert Hazbun. "Please do it."

 

Hazbun, a civil engineer who pioneered use of recycled water in El Dorado Hills' Serrano development, called on district directors to proceed with plans to build a reservoir to store recycled water during winter to irrigate landscaping during summer.

 

Staff members during a workshop Monday presented the board with an economic evaluation of a long-contemplated seasonal storage project.

 

Capital costs to build a reservoir west of Latrobe Road and south of the Valley View residential development are estimated at $52.5 million.

 

The board in 2004 adopted a policy requiring new development, primarily in the El Dorado Hills area, to use recycled water for outdoor irrigation wherever feasible.

 

Since then, director George Osborne said, "We had a little sticker shock when we found out how much this little pond was going to cost."

 

The annual recycled water demand of 3,900 acre-feet is expected to double with the buildout projected in the county's general plan, in about 2025. An acre-foot is the amount of water required to cover an acre to the depth of 1 foot.

 

To reuse all water discharged from the district's wastewater treatment plants during a wet season would require 5,000 acre-feet of storage capacity. Because the district lacks adequate storage for recycled water, it has had to supplement it with potable water during summer.

 

Without additional storage, 2,500 acre-feet of either raw or potable water would be required to supplement the system by the projected buildout, staff members said.

 

Alternatives to the reservoir include constructing a pipeline to deliver raw water from Folsom Lake, or expanding water treatment facilities to provide additional potable water for irrigation.

 

Staff members said the storage reservoir, as a "green" project, would be more likely to qualify for grants or low-interest loans. But they recommended postponing construction because of the poor economy.

 

Hazbun urged the board to move ahead with the project. He suggested partnering with the city of Folsom to develop a regional storage facility that could serve development planned south of Highway 50 within the city.

 

General Manager Tom Gallier said Folsom officials have expressed interest in such a project.

 

"But, as with us, there is concern about their own economic situation," he said. "They're not quite ready."

 

Mike McDougall, a spokesman for AKT Development, which owns much of the land proposed for the reservoir site, said the firm is willing to make the property available for the project.

 

Staff members will provide additional information for consideration at a future meeting. #

 

http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/1815217.html?mi_rss=Our%2520Region

 

City protests rate hike; we all should, too

The Antelope Valley Press – 4/26/09

Editorial

 

'The formulas used to determine the rate are very complex and do not appear to be based on accurate information."

 

That's the assessment of Palmdale city officials about Palmdale Water District officials' proposal to drastically hike their customers' monthly water bills, using a multi-tiered pricing system that raises rates higher and higher as water usage increases.

 

City officials last week did what Palmdale Water officials hope many property owners won't do: they protested in writing against the fee increase, and if enough other property owners do so the rate increase is blocked.

 

Under Proposition 218, a ballot measure approved by California voters in 1996, a rate increase by a water district can be blocked if more than half its property owners protest in writing. In this case, the protests must be filed before the end of a public hearing scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 13.

 

Palmdale Water officials have not disclosed how many individual property owners are in the district, but the city protest obviously goes a long way to accounting for half: 28,334 individual parcels are under city ownership, making a list that covers 95 pages of closely-spaced parcel numbers.

 

Palmdale School District officials said last week they expect to protest the rate hikes as well, though how many parcels are under school ownership wasn't known.

 

In their protest, city officials said Palmdale Water officials should first look for ways to trim spending, as other California government agencies have done under the present recession.

 

"Increased costs relied on in the PWD report are not appropriate," says the city protest letter, signed by City Manager Steve Williams. "Every public entity has suffered severe reductions in revenue but most have taken actions to significantly reduce spending."

 

The city, Williams' letter says, cut general fund spending by 9% in 2007-08 and 12.1% in 2008-09. It cut full-time staff by nearly 20%, eliminating 66 positions, and also reduced City Hall operating hours, cut employee travel and training spending, froze pay increases and reduced employee benefits.

 

"Perhaps if PWD would implement similar cost savings measures, the need for rate increases would be lower," the letter added. "The city demands that PWD implement cost savings actions and then do a new study to determine whether the proposed rate increases are actually necessary."

 

Rather than curbing spending, Palmdale Water officials proposed a rate increase that would boost the basic monthly meter charge more than 100% this year, and another 55% within five years. In addition, the rate increase would boost consumption charges by up to 289% by 2014.

 

City officials said the billing formula is so confusing they can't tell what their water bills will be.

 

The billing formula consists of seven basic service charges for different-sized water meters, five escalating "tiers" of prices based on water consumption, three "elevation booster" surcharges based on altitude, a water-quality fee and a partridge in a pear tree. No, just kidding about the partridge.

 

"Is it going to be a $30,000 increase or a $30 million increase? We don't know," city spokesman John Mlynar said last week.

 

In conclusion, we believe the points raised in the city protest letter are valid. They deserve rigorous, candid response from the water district, and water officials would do well in following the city's example and making their own budget cuts, rather than demanding more of customers' hard-earned money.#

 

http://www.avpress.com/n/27/0427_s8.hts

 

Water district shows support for EBMUD plan

The Calaveras Enterprise – 4/28/09

By Claudette Langley

 

The Calaveras County Water District's decision to send a letter of support for a controversial water-management program drew criticism from a local environmentalist last week.

Pete Bell, vice president of the Foothill Conservancy, which states its purpose as protecting, restoring and sustaining the natural and human environment in Amador and Calaveras counties, was at Wednesday's board of directors meeting. Bell looked increasingly frustrated as it became clear that directors were going to support the East Bay Municipal Utility District's long-range planning efforts, which could include raising Pardee Reservoir.

“You can't have anymore of the Mokelumne River,” he said. “You can have water, but you can't have the river.”

Bell was referring to the possible consequences to the river if Pardee is raised. The plan would call for building a new dam downstream from the existing dam and raising the water level by 33 feet, which would inundate the Highway 4 and Middle Bar bridges and flood a three-mile stretch of the river.

Residents from Amador and Calaveras counties packed town hall meetings in April to protest EBMUD's plan. The outcries resulted in the comment period on the plan being extended from April 6 to May 4. EBMUD's board of directors won't even consider the plan until 2025.#

 

http://www.calaverasenterprise.com/articles/2009/04/28/news/news02_ebmud.txt

 

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