By Mary-Justine Lanyon
Nearly three years ago, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1572, which prohibits the use of potable water to irrigate nonfunctional turf on commercial, industrial and institutional properties and in specified common areas.
That law goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
At their Sept. 22 meeting, the Lake Arrowhead Community Services District board considered adopting Ordinance 85 to implement AB 1572.
In introducing the ordinance to the board, General Manager Ryan Gross said that “it won’t have much effect here at LACSD.” The regulations will be phased in over several years: In January 2027 it will apply to properties owned by the Department of General Service and properties owned by local governments, local or regional public agencies and public water systems not located in a disadvantaged community. “I’m not aware of any in our district,” Gross said.
In January 2028, it will apply to other institutional properties and commercial and industrial properties. And in January 2029, it will apply to common areas of homeowners’ associations.
Gross stressed that the regulations apply to “nonfunctional” turf. “Someone can certify it’s functional for volleyball or sunbathing,” he said. “We are required to put this in place.”
With no further discussion, the four board members present adopted Ordinance 85 unanimously.
The board also awarded a contract to Pacific Hydrotech Corporation in the amount of $18,503,300 for the construction of PFAS treatment facilities at the Bernina and Cedar Glen water treatment plants.
According to the background information presented by Engineering Manager Gus Albarran, “new facilities to be constructed include ion exchange treatment systems, piping modifications, pumps, filters, instrumentation, electrical improvements, testing, startup and commissioning.”
Albarran noted that this project will be funded entirely by a Drinking Water Construction grant from the State Water Resources Control Board Division of Drinking Water and the Division of Financial Assistance.
Vice President John Wurm remarked that he believed “we were one of the first water providers in the country to get to this point.” Gross clarified: “For surface water PFAS removal – we were first or second in California. The district was proactive in getting ahead of the curve.”
Garin Vartanian, commenting online, said that “you were first in line because ratepayers brought it to your attention. If not for the ratepayers, it would have been swept under the rug.”
A second contract was awarded to Robert D. Niehaus, Inc. (RDN) in the amount of $37,420 for a rate study of LACSD’s water and wastewater enterprises.
Finance Manager John O’Brien noted that the last rate study performed for LACSD was done in 2022, by RDN. “This provided a fair and defensible framework for the District’s rates and fee for the subsequent five years. Now that the District has arrived at the end of this five-year framework, the District needs to perform an updated study.”
Director Michelle Ambrozic had questions: “If they say you charge way less than everyone else, what impact does that have on what we charge? Will (the study) lead to an arbitrary rate increase because they exist elsewhere?”
“The way studies are performed,” O’Brien said, “is they receive all our relevant data, including improvement projects in the future. They come up with a rate structure needed to support that. It is not based on what someone else is charging.
“We’re not here to make a profit,” O’Brien said, “but to provide a service that has to be sustainable into the future. If we didn’t have the funding for the PFAS project, that would wipe out $25 million. We’re thankful that came through.”
O’Brien added that any proposed rates would be based on the costs the district has and how those costs are allocated to ratepayers.
Under Prop 218, Wurm said, “we are not allowed to charge more than our costs are.”
The board unanimously awarded the contract to RDN.
General Manager Gross also brought a draft reimbursement policy related to customer billing issues to the board for their consideration.
The draft policy defines a billing error as “an incorrect charge resulting from a mistake by the District, including a clerical, computational, data-entry, account-classification, meter-reading or other administrative error. A disagreement concerning an adopted rate, fee, charge, District policy or the amount of service actually used does not constitute a billing error.”
The draft policy sets the refund period as a maximum of three years from the date of the billing error.
“What I was seeking,” said Director Ambrozic, who had asked that the board consider such a policy, “was a uniform policy that ends with you (Gross). I think some people feel if they come before the board, an exception will be made. No matter what, this is what anyone would get – no special favors done because they come to the board or write a letter. The maximum is the maximum.”
Gross said they will “massage” the draft and bring it back for adoption.
In board member comments, Vice President Wurm pointed to three recent LACSD accomplishments:
- Securing $25 million to remove PFAS from the lake. “We were first in line to get the money. We saved each ratepayer about $2,500. I thank the staff for being so diligent and moving so quickly.”
- LACSD currently pays $60,000 a month for electricity. The solar plant that is under construction is expected to cut that cost in half.
- In the past, projects and studies were routinely done by outside contractors. Today they are done in-house, savings hundreds of thousands of dollars.
0 Comments