FVWD — Friday, Jan. 20
Fern Valley Water District (FVWD) directors met for the first time in several years at the office with one director, Robert Krieger, allowed to teleconference because of a prior request and one director, Kevin Scott, teleconferencing who had not made a request. Scott could discuss but was not allowed to vote on any issues.
The Local Agency Investment Fund (LAIF) is now yielding 2.07% interest. FVWD has $1,482,696 in LAIF and $1,127,421 in the California Employers’ Retiree Benefit Trust.
In General Manager Victor Jimenez’s report, he showed moisture in inches at 11.64 compared to 5.33 at the same time last year. Jimenez said a large leak was found the Tuesday prior and FVWD crews sealed it off “as quickly as possible.” He said, “ … getting rid of rotten pipes has made a significant difference.”
Ten new fire hydrants have been ordered but deliveries are taking a long time because of past COVID layoffs.
As to the drought, he said, “Things are looking really, really good. Both creeks are producing a lot.” He told the board Tahquitz Creek is producing 266 gallons per minute. “The wells are coming up.”
Director Jon Brown suggested moving from Stage 3 to Stage 2 or 1 water conservation. Jimenez will consider and bring his decision back to the board. “If we continue to get more water and customers keep conserving, I think we’re in good shape,” Jimenez said.
He spoke positively about a recent taco luncheon at Idyllwild Water District (IWD) where its staff, FVWD staff and Pine Cove Water District staff got together. The general managers discussed revising the mutual aid agreement among the three districts.
Despite Krieger being elected as president for a two-year term, he stepped down for his second year due to his 85th birthday approaching. The board elected Gary Erb as president. However, Erb and his wife are putting Fern Valley Inn up for sale and will be leaving the Hill. Brown was elected vice president and Scott secretary/treasurer.
IWD — Wednesday, Jan. 18
In financials, directors questioned $27,516 to Quinn Company for fixing a water tractor. General Manager Leo Havener explained that it is a water backhoe that required two payments to be repaired. However, while being towed to the repair company, the truck’s trailer hitch broke, causing the trailer to tip onto its side. Nearly $20,000 went to the routine maintenance repair, the rest went to repairing the crash damage. He said the insurance deductive is $5,000 so IWD paid for the repairs rather than filing a claim.
He and Chief Financial Officer Hosny Shouman estimated that replacing the backhoe would cost $125,000 to $150,000.
Havener also mentioned the taco luncheon and the general managers’ interest in revising the mutual aid agreement. He also said he had not met some of the other districts’ staff before.
Havener said Lake Fulmor was at about 13 feet as of that morning. He said people have been conserving water and the storms have had a mostly positive impact on water supply. However, he expressed concern that too much water can cause issues with the sewer. President Charles Schelly said, “We don’t like it when we get too much water in the sewage system. It messes up the treatment plant …” Havener called it I&I water — inflow and infiltration. “We don’t know where it is getting in or how we could mitigate it.”
Schelly had several ideas for drought issues. He plans to visit with the Idyllwild School principal to see if he can start an educational program for children on water conservation.
He wants IWD to reclaim “storm surge water to recharge some of [our] basins,” such as Foster Lake. He suggested approaching county transportation so snowplow operators could move snow to the lake. Havener said IWD has a good relationship with transportation who stores equipment out near the lake already. However, he will need to look into environmental concerns for putting snow into the lake.
IWD directors and staff also discussed dropping the water conservation stage, as FVWD did. But Havener did not make a decision.
IWD unanimously voted to pass a resolution opposing state Initiative 21-0042A1 that limits “the ability of voters and state and local governments to raise revenues for government services.” The initiative is expected to be on the ballot in November 2024. Havener said, “If this passes, no offense, there will be no water districts anywhere.”
Schelly was reelected president and Peter Szabadi vice president.
LHMWD — Thursday, Jan. 19
Lake Hemet Municipal Water District (LHMWD) General Manager Mike Gow reported Lake Hemet’s level at 122.3 feet. It is full at 138 feet. LHMWD supplies water to Garner Valley residents.
The district has not needed to purchase water from Eastern Municipal Water District for its valley customers.
LHMWD recorded 1.95 inches of rainfall in November 2022. As of Jan. 4, the year-to-date total was 5.9 inches. LHMWD records its rainfall from October to September, and its average annual rainfall for the valley is 12 inches.
LHMWD meets at its office in Valle Vista. It owns Lake Hemet and the campground area. The revenue from the campground for November 2022 was $55,684 with expenses at $14,733. Its annual budget is $310,000 for revenues and $111,550 for expenses.
