Mark Dolson
Main Pipeline Break in Brookdale Rapidly Repaired.
The September 2nd and September 16th Board Meetings for SLVWD were fairly efficient and routine. At its first September meeting, the Board approved three resolutions by a vote of 5-0:
- The Board approved a $42,000 follow-on contract with Panorama Environmental to continue post-fire response, fire planning, grant writing, and oversight of fuel reduction and reforestation. The District’s close working relationship with Panorama continues to prove highly beneficial, and some of the cost for this contract will be offset by grants.
- The Board approved a 50% increase (from $10 to $15) in the monthly discount that the District offers to low-income ratepayers via its Ratepayer Assistance Program. This program is open to ratepayers who qualify for the PG&E CARE program, but only 61 ratepayers signed up in the first year, and the Board hoped that the larger discount (now $180 per year) might attract additional participants:
https://www.slvwd.com/customer-service/webforms/rate-assistance-program
- The Board appointed District Manager Rick Rogers and District Counsel Gina Nicholls to represent the District in the event that negotiations are opened (either by the District or by one or both of its two separate employee groups) for revising the current formal agreements governing terms and conditions of employment.
The big news at the second September meeting was that the District was able to very rapidly repair a critical pipeline break in Brookdale that occurred on the evening of Friday, September 3rd. District Staff responded immediately (in some cases, interrupting travel for the three-day weekend), and the District also solicited assistance from the local Fire Department for the installation of emergency lighting in a heavily wooded area at night. As a precaution, signs urging water conservation were posted for the next twelve hours. The leak was found to be due to coupling damage induced by slumping of an adjacent embankment. Fortunately, the District had the necessary replacement couplings in storage, and the repair was completed in eight hours.
Moving forward, the District plans to construct a bypass to eliminate the root cause of this failure (a problematic 50-year-old underwater crossing) to prevent any possible recurrence of this particular issue. The District is also starting to assess strategies for enabling people to attend its meetings via Zoom even after it (eventually) returns to its longstanding practice of in-person meetings. This will require some new audio-visual equipment and a new meeting space, but the Board expects this to be well worthwhile because many ratepayers find it much easier to attend meetings remotely.
The next Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for 6:30 PM on October 7th.