The Pine Cove Water District Board of Directors received a presentation of the annual audit by Scott Manno from Rogers, Anderson, Malody & Scott, LLP at its October meeting. General Manager Jerry Holldber presented a list of enhancements and a 10-20-50-plus year plan.
The newspaper will cover the audits of the local districts in a separate story as soon as all the districts have received their audits.
What was Holldber’s reason for presenting a list of enhancements and future plans for the district to the board? “It is becoming apparent that water demands are on the increase, especially with the increased full-timers and weekend rentals,” Holldber wrote in the document. “Possible drought years are in our future, increasing needs to protect our water quality.”
Holldber listed the following as tasks that need to be accomplished: Upgrade existing wells 3, 6, 18 and 17; a loading line for well 9; bring well 21 online; construct new wells, drill first, inventory; perform a watershed survey, monitor wells and streams; purchase properties to protect wells; implement a septic tank maintenance program; purchase generators for backup power; include extra field staff; implement an annual leak detection program; and continue leak rewards, rebates and conservation.
In addition, Holldber’s list includes promoting longevity, doing a study to see if additional storage is good and decipher the status of water retention in areas. The district is still researching AMI (smart) meters that can be read from the office. Holldber and Board President Robert Hewitt have been researching the meters. Listed as advantages of the meters are that they will always be read (even through the winter months), the district can go to a monthly billing period, a super leak detection program can be implemented, customers can monitor their own usage, the district can track weekend use and the meters help to conserve water.
Under main line replacement, Holldber outlines: continue upgrading and replacing; upgrade hydrants with new lines; continue and seek support from County Service Area 38 funds to upgrade hydrants; add a facility to provide helicopters with water; install lines/hydrants to wildland urban interface (WUI) areas; utilize water to promote fuel breaks around Pine Cove, purchase and upgrade equipment to promote an efficient operation; and utilize in-house crews to minimize costs versus using contractors.
The district will not have a November meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 9.