Local water districts prepared for emergencies, IFPD Chief says water supply not an issue during previous fires

In coverage of the historic fires that destroyed neighborhoods in Los Angeles County this month, one area of concern has been water supply as it impacts firefighting. We spoke with representatives of our three local water districts about their readiness for fire and other emergencies.

Pine Cove Water District’s board president Robert Hewitt wants locals to know that the district is taking a proactive approach to emergency preparedness. “We hear that everyone on the hill is concerned about fire. We’ve thought out scenarios and taken steps to be prepared.” Hewitt and general manager Jeremy Potter provided the following facts and figures:

PCWD has six reservoirs with a capacity 3.1 million gallons. They are kept at 96-98% full. The system needs 1.3-1.5 million gallons in the tanks to be able to function normally. Storage over this provides insurance in case of fire.

The district has 191 hydrants. All are in working order and are maintained semi-annually. Most are “steamers,” with dual 4-inch outlets. The remaining single-outlet 2.5-inch-outlet hydrants are being swapped out, 10 per year, using CSA 38 money.

Their system is gravity-fed. “As long as water is in the tanks, there is water in the hydrants. During a power outage, we currently have two towable generators. One can power three wells. The other is deployed at the MRC (the Mountain Resource Center in Dutch Flats) and can power not only two wells but also the treatment plant and MRC building.” The district office is also on a generator, as is their communications site, which provides service for PCWD and “multiple other agencies.”

Pine Cove Water has two dip tanks for firefighting helicopters: a portable 4,600-gallon, HeloPod, and a 7,800-gallon fixed tank at Dutch Flats. The stationary tank is filled whenever there is reason for concern or on request from fire agencies and has an automatic refill system. During the Cranston fire they used an inflatable “pumpkin” tank in Dutch Flats. “We were able to keep it full during non-stop use and still meet customer demand.

Brian Wilson, Chief Water Operator at Idyllwild Water District, had a similar message. “I want to provide reassurance to our customers and the community that we have worked hard for the past year to maintain and upgrade our system to continue to provide water at an optimal level, especially during emergencies.” He noted that IWD has five fixed generators, including a large one at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, and a mobile generator that can serve several locations in succession. During the recent outages, it served the Wildwood tank. Except for Wildwood and the West Ridge area, the system is gravity-fed.

IWD has 12 tanks with roughly 4 million gallons of storage capacity, normally kept 85% full.

IWD has around 250 hydrants. “Last year we went through them and repaired 15 that were offline. We audit annually and make repairs as needed.”

Foster Lake is another asset used by firefighting helicopters. It is mostly fed by runoff, but IWD’s Strawberry Creek Diversion supplements this. “Even with low levels, there is enough for fire suppression.”

Wilson also mentioned a little-known tool of last resort: “We have two of what are known as ‘inter-tie’ stations. In an emergency, we can share water with both other districts. It can flow in both directions. And while they aren’t normally utilized, they are maintained and were set up for crises.”

Fern Valley Water’s GM Victor Jimenez added that they have one large generator that can run their filter plant and any pumps necessary, and several smaller units. “All that we need to do is keep the filter plant running. Our whole system is gravity-fed.”

Fern Valley has almost 7 million gallons of storage, including a large three-million-gallon tank off of Chipmunk Drive. “These tanks are kept topped off, especially in fire season.”

Like the other districts, Fern Valley has a robust annual program of hydrant maintenance and improvement. “We’ve upgraded 55 of the smaller ones to 6-inch commercial hydrants over the last seven years. Fern Valley Water is always ready to handle fire suppression at all times.” Jimenez underlined that he confers closely and frequently with Idyllwild Fire Protection District Chief Mark LaMont.

Chief LaMont put this in perspective. He agreed that even during the fires that have threatened our community in the past, Bee Canyon, Mountain, and Cranston, “Water supply was never an issue.”