IWD moving forward on treatment plant

At the Idyllwild Water District (IWD) Board of Directors meeting Wednesday, Sept. 20, a ratepayer complained about the new, higher rates approved in June, and appearing since July on IWD bills. This ratepayer is a single senior citizen “doing one load of laundry a week” and engaging in “no outside irrigation.” Her combined sewer and water bill for August was just over $100, including only $7.53 for water usage, 142 cubic feet (CF) (1,062 gallons.) This is a modest average of 34 gallons a day.

The citizen also owns a home in La Quinta, and provided copies of both the IWD bill and that of the desert residence. The La Quinta bill included water charges of $23.49 for 7,480 gallons, seven times as much water. A handwritten note added that sewer charges are added to property tax bills in La Quinta, and equal $28.79 a month, for a total cost of $52.28, slightly over half the IWD bill. Water and sewer are significantly more expensive in the small Idyllwild district.

The Crier reported another resident’s complaint at last month’s meeting: They reported that the water portion of their bill had gone up in July by $50, although the nominal increase voted by the board was “8%” (for the base charge.) The residence in question, the ratepayer told us, was not occupied.

They allowed the Crier to see their June and July bills. The June bill was for $93.12, including $47.92 for water. The July bill was in fact over $50 higher, $145.84, of which $95.89 was for water. This for a house, we were told, in which no one was showering or flushing toilet but where water was being used for outdoor landscaping.

This added up to 1,100 CF; over 8,229 gallons, compared to under 400 CF the month before. So the resident used almost three times as much water — an average of 265 gallons per day — and paid twice as much.

At the end of public comments, the voice of legal counsel Ryan Guiboa informed the directors that there was an opportunity to put an emergency action item on the agenda for that night’s meeting, recognized within Brown Act strictures. Because “action is required Immediately” and the issue came to their attention after their last meeting, the normal public notice rule would not apply.

The item in question was repairing the generator building roof at the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), destroyed by a tree that fell during Tropical Storm Hilary late last month. Removal of 16 “problematic” trees around the plant had been an ongoing process, but the storm beat IWD to the punch.

Two bids had already been tendered, for $68,400 and $58,400. The firm with the lower bid, Frontline Roofing, also was able to start the work three weeks sooner, and so General Manager (GM) Leo Havener recommended the board accept the lower bid. The old roof was a “grade 10” roof, and code will require the new roof be “grade 24,” able to bear a higher snow load. Chief Financial Officer Hosny Shouman explained that it is not clear if the insurance company will pay for the higher quality roof, but many insurance policies include an allowance for code-mandated upgrades. The deductible on the policy is $2,500. The board accepted Havener’s recommendation and approved the motion to replace the roof.

The GM’s report included an oddity on the graphs showing expenses: SCE apparently has been, for some time now, sending monthly electricity bills in batches, and in August, eight months of bills were delivered at once. The check register for August shows payments to SCE totaling almost $72,000. The “spikes” on the graph show unusual expenses of around $200,000. Havener has inquired with SCE as to why this happens and has not received an explanation. “We have no idea” why this happens, he said.

Havener gave an update on progress toward replacing the WWTP: The property has been purchased from Idyllwild Arts Academy, and the county must now approve adjusting the lot lines. The initial 30% of the required engineering will be completed within 3 months. Once that is done, applications for grants can begin. Work on-site can now go forward, including bore samples and other testing to support California Environmental Quality Act filings.

Other projects Havener included in his report were delivering $35,000 worth of active charcoal for the water treatment plant; coating Foster Lake tank #1; the raw water pipeline along Jameson Drive beginning the last week of September; reviewing bids for the lower office repair. Valve exercising has been completed; sewer pipe cleaning and repair is proceeding after the recent video examination; and the annual audit has been finished and will be discussed by the board next month. The GM described it as a “clean bill of health.”

Fire hydrant flushing and inspection is beginning. A discussion of fire hydrants ensued. There are two types, wet and dry. Dry hydrants are used in rural areas and are necessary in areas like this that freeze. Some firefighters are not aware of the care that must be taken with dry hydrants; for example, they must be emptied of water after use.

In answer to a question from the public, Havener explained that sewer inspection is done every five years. He highlighted severe blockages and broken pipes in the following areas: Alderwood Street, Village Center Drive, Oakwood Street and Saddle Drive. At this last location, IWD will undertake trenching and replacing one 10-foot section, part of the normal maintenance budget. This month’s agenda included many photos of the sewer line inspection, and interested Idyllwilders may view them by accessing the agenda at Idyllwildwater.com.

Havener, in answer to Director Steve Kunkle’s interest in grease traps, pointed out that the county requires suitable traps when restaurants open, and that IWD must sign off on these permits. Kunkle also asked about the possibility of asphalt chunks getting into the sewer system during the recent repaving. Havener discounted this, but Chief Water Officer Joseph Reyes offered to inspect.

Vice President Peter Szabadi brought up a memorandum he had sent to Havener about water shortage and drought protocols. He said the board and GM agree that present rules are not rational and that new ones, data-driven, must be developed. He expressed a sense that progress is being made and asked that a discussion of these rules be added to the next agenda.

A question from the public about alternative sources for funding for the new WWTP was answered by legal counsel. Anna Schwab in the firm’s Washington DC office is looking at federal sources, and another consultant is looking at state grants … “but we do need that 30%” of engineering completed before applications can be filed.

Szabadi asked for a simple report, even verbal, on the progress of that engineering. He asked Havener to watch the engineers closely and expressed a desire to keep open the option of hiring a different firm to complete the project. Kunkle echoed this sentiment later. In past meetings it has been said that a new firm would require that the existing engineering be done over again.

Another expenditure the board approved was a new 24-foot sliding gate for the water treatment plant. The old one is damaged. Bids for $30,000 and $42,000 were received, including all mechanisms and concrete work, “seeing eye” sensors and keypads. Directors asked about lift gates but were told that a 24-foot lift gate is impractical. Fern Valley Water has a similar gate, and in snow it must sometimes be left open, and this type of gate is not too difficult to open manually during power outages. The board approved the lower bid.

The next meeting is 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18.