Mark Dolson

The San Lorenzo Valley Water District (SLVWD) Board held its most recent monthly meeting on Thursday, May 2nd. The Board unanimously approved twelve engineering change orders totaling an additional $123,158 for work performed by Monterey Peninsula Engineering to install a replacement pipeline alongside the Glen Arbor Bridge. The bulk of the meeting, however, was devoted to an extended discussion of proposed next steps in support of the planned consolidations with Bracken Brae and Forest Springs, and also the possible future consolidation with Big Basin.

Bracken Brae (24 connections) and Forest Springs (128 connections) are two small mutual water systems north of Boulder Creek that were severely impacted by the 2020 CZU Fire and have requested consolidation with SLVWD. Negotiations got underway in October of 2021, and SLVWD was notified in November of 2021 that the State Department of Water Resources (DWR) had awarded it a grant of $3.2 million for the construction of the necessary intertie pipelines. In parallel, Bracken Brae was allocated $1.25 million in FEMA funding to make upgrades and repairs to their portion of the system.

Unfortunately, progress has been slower than originally anticipated as SLVWD has struggled to cope with staff overload and substantial staff turnover. In addition, the project is turning out to be much more expensive than initially envisioned. In May of 2022, Letters of Intent were signed between SLVWD and the two mutuals, and SLVWD engaged Sandis Civil Engineers to develop plans and specifications for the consolidation. Sandis has now provided the initial plans, specifications, and engineer’s cost estimate for the construction of the entire consolidation project: connecting to SLVWD’s existing system, a new pump station, and a new water mainline through each of the mutuals excluding the storage tanks. The engineer’s estimate totals $12.8 million, far exceeding SLVWD’s remaining grant funding (of which $2.5 million remains unspent) and the FEMA funding obtained by Bracken Brae.

At this month’s SLVWD Board meeting, Interim General Manager Brian Frus sought Board approval for a compromise plan aimed at making timely and effective use of the remaining DWR funding while simultaneously making progress not only toward the Bracken Brae and Forest Springs consolidations but also toward an eventual Big Basin consolidation as well. Brian noted that the Bracken Brae and Forest Springs consolidations will require SLVWD to upgrade a significant section of its current 4” pipeline to 8” at a minimum (and, preferably, to 12” in order to support a future consolidation with Big Basin). In the absence of any consolidations, SLVWD would not undertake this upgrade until a number of years from now.

Brian estimated that the upgrade to a 12” pipeline could be achieved for under $4 million (whereas upgrading to only 8” might cost about $3 million). This would allow SLVWD to demonstrate to the State that it is making effective use of its DWR funds, and to use these funds to partially offset a future expense for SLVWD (thereby saving $2. 5 million). The ensuing Board discussion explored three possible concerns.

First, from the standpoint of Bracken Brae and Forest Springs, it would be ideal for SLVWD to pay for this upgrade entirely with its own money and to devote all of its remaining DWR funding to the new mainline to the north. A Forest Springs representative and a number of Bracken Brae customers offered public comments, but everyone agreed that their top priority was to achieve timely and tangible progress and to maintain an effective collaboration with SLVWD. Brian’s proposal satisfies this objective.

Second, SLVWD will have to spend more of its own money for a 12” pipeline than for the 8” pipeline which would suffice in the absence of a possible future Big Basin consolidation. Brian said he was in communication with the Big Basin receiver and with relevant officials, and he was optimistic that this proactive response from SLVWD (i.e., committing to a 12” pipeline) would encourage further state funding in support of consolidations.

Third, the Board was concerned about the potential for the actual construction bids for the upgrade to again be higher than anticipated, and for the potential for SLVWD’s cash reserves to be unacceptably drawn down. The Board ended up unanimously approving Brian’s proposal to obtain bids for a 12” pipeline, but it deferred his request for full project approval in advance, and it suggested that SLVWD might end up financing this construction via a new loan.

Lastly, on a separate topic, President Hill reported that the Board voted unanimously in Closed Session to offer to extend the Interim District Manager’s contract for two months in order to allow for further negotiations regarding the permanent position.