The Idyllwild Water District (IWD) Board of Directors met last week with all four directors present, as well as the two candidates for the open fifth seat on the board — R. Mitch Davis and Jessica Priefer. When the board was split on the two applications, they were sent to County Supervisor V. Manuel Perez’ office, but Perez declined to choose. The directors approved a resolution handing the question to the ratepayers, setting an election for March 5, 2024.

An update on the Servpro mold remediation project in the lower administrative building of General Manager Leo Havener and Chief Financial Officer Hosny Showman was given. Drywall and floor covering have been removed, and now the extent of the damage can be seen. The studs for about 70% of the walls do not touch the floor (plate) as they have rotted out. Mold is everywhere, with some concentrated areas.

The ad hoc committee dealing with this, made up of directors Steve Kunkle and Steve Olson, reported that the repairs would have to include some exterior concrete work to keep water from entering the wall again. They recommended getting bids from local contractors for the work. Meanwhile, the district will continue to rent office space in the Courtyard Building. The lease is up in September, and Havener expects to renew that for six months.

Havener presented the Operations Report and Olson had questions regarding how wells are listed in the report; in one place it listed 11 wells, one full-time and 10 part-time, but in another place it mentions 12 wells, and on the next page, 20. Havener agreed that one well was missing, and explained that the longer list includes monitoring wells and wells that have not been used for years; the 12 are wells that are available for production “today.”

Olson also asked about the depth of wells and the depths of the pumps in them. Havener reported that this information is buried in the files and uncovering it is a process the staff is “trying to resolve.” The information “should be” in the files, and this is the “first time [he has] ever ran across this” type of situation. Havener said he was looking into acquiring video equipment that would allow the district to find this and other information directly.

Present production from all wells averages out to 333 gallons per minute. Olson asked if the district could pump more than that and Havener said, “A lot more.” Olson also drilled down on the estimates that the district is presently producing 59% of the system’s maximum capacity. “We pump, the wells refill …” He called the criteria being used to determine water conservation stages “nonsense,” and asserted that we should be on Stage 1 water conservation. Havener agreed, and President Charles Schelly pointed out that the district is at Stage 1, and there is “no level 0.”

Olson pointed out that well levels are not clearly meaningful; when you stop pumping, how fast do levels rise? Later it was mentioned that some of the wells are “artesianing,” or spouting when uncapped, and that Foster Lake is full.

Schelly noted that the question of well depths has been brought up regularly in past meetings, and that determining these numbers is an essential part of producing a new plan for water conservation levels.

Havener presented his general manager’s report. These showed annual revenue of $2,492,165 and expenses of $1,988,030, a surplus of $504,135. Olson noted a few variations from the financial reports, pointing out that he had spotted similar errors in past months, and asked that in the future, with a new fiscal year starting, make sure that the numbers agree.

Revenues for water showed as $1,747,291 on the revenue vs. expenses graph, but as $1,761,338 on the statement sheet. Expenses showed a smaller discrepancy: $1,485,029 on the graph, but $1,486,538 on the statement. The graph for sewer expenses gave $503,001, while the statement showed $450,310. Havener promised to “straighten this out.”

Olson also pointed out that because accounting is done on a cash basis, when the audited statements come out, some of the surplus will disappear due to “accrued liabilities and expenses that are not reflected.”

Havener noted that more revenue is going into the reserve fund.

Last fiscal year’s production, 279 acre feet (almost 91 million gallons), was about average, 268. In the last 10 years, this has varied between 231 and 284. A discussion of production and sales led to the interesting information that “nonwater sales” is actually “water not sold,” for instance water drained from a tank before repairing it.

Havener also mentioned “I and I,” the influx and infiltration from stormwater that swells the intake into the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Last winter’s I and I was the highest since 2010, increasing the intake from the normal 0.95 million gallons daily to 1.156.

Later in the meeting, he showed a photo from a recent visit by Houston and Harris, a company that provides cleaning and video inspections of sewer pipes The image showed a clay 8-inch main line with many cracks, with a blockage from tree roots visible in the background. Cracks like these are the source of I and I. The blockage, according to Havener, was too large for the company to remove, and so IWD will have to buy equipment to do this. Said Havener, “It’s probably worse past the blockage.” The company will go maintenance hole to maintenance hole looking at laterals and mainlines, but not the lines from individual houses. The examination will continue. There will be a list of needed repairs. Some repairs IWD can take on, others may require outside contractors. These repairs could take “months to years” to complete.

Another set of pictures showed a padlock, used by the district to lock a residential meter closed, that had been cut with bolt cutters. This happens occasionally, and when a house with locked service shows water usage this is often the cause. The district, Havener told the board in answer to a director’s question, has a dozen or more locked meters presently. There is a protocol; contacting the owner, trying to ascertain responsibility. Owners “95% of the time” have no idea who could have done such a thing. There are fines.

The board increased rates last month that will begin showing up on bills received in August.

Other expenses included re-coating Foster Lake Tank #1 (in process) and the purchase of a new blower (included in the capital improvement projects) for the WWTP The blower is on order and is expected to arrive in November.

The Vehicle Maintenance Report discussed three crashes this year: In January, truck #27 hit black ice inside the company yard and hit a corner of the shop, causing $4,000 damage to a headlight and fender. In March, truck #3, on the way to the WWTP, also hit black ice on “an easy corner” and hit a tree, also causing $4,000 damage. Both these repair bills were paid by the district.

A few weeks ago, while exiting the WWTP, a driver operating truck #13 bent over to pick up a “dropped object” and lost control, hitting a tree and causing $22,500 worth of damage. An adjustor will determine if the truck is totaled. The air bag was deployed, and that alone costs $5,000.

The three crashes involved three different drivers. Havener explained that all employees are now required to take defensive driving class, and to have a commercial license so they can operate all the vehicles the district owns. This includes a dump truck and trucks with air brakes. Employees are presently completing the training to fulfill this new requirement.

In closed session, the directors discussed two land purchases and an employee performance evaluation for Havener. There was no reportable action. The next scheduled meeting is at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 16.