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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-03-12 - Planning-Engineering-Operations Committee Meeting Minutes MINUTES OF THE YORBA LINDA WATER DISTRICT PLANNING-ENGINEERING-OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MEETING March 12, 2012 A meeting of the Planning-Engineering-Operations Committee was called to order by Director Collett at 4:00 p.m. The meeting was held at the District's Administrative Office at 1717 E Miraloma Ave, Placentia CA 92870. COMMITTEE STAFF Director Ric Collett, Chair Ken Vecchiarelli, General Manager Director Robert R. Kiley Steve Conklin, Engineering Manager Lee Cory, Operations Manager John DeCriscio, Chief Plant Operator OTHER ATTENDEES Residents of the Hidden Hills community, including Mark Schock, David Ramocinski, Cheri Abercrombi, Bob Short, Kathy Short, John Kirby, Teresa Kirby and Shannon Lew. 1. PUBLIC COMMENTS None. 2. DISCUSSION ITEMS 2.1. Operational Practices During Red Flag Days (Verbal Report) Mr. Vecchiarelli opened the discussion with information on when and how the District will be able to respond to the Public Records Request (PRR) by Mr. Schock for water storage information for various reservoirs at the time of Red Flag Warning (RFW) notifications by OCFA. He noted that compliance with the PRR requires that a public agency provide records that are available, but does not require that new records be created or prepared. Mr. Vecchiarelli commented that complying with the recent PRR by Mr. Schock would require an estimated 30-60 hours of staff time to create and compile the requested documents, which is beyond that required in the PRR. Mr. Schock indicated that the purpose of his PRR was to obtain reservoir fill information during RFW periods. He noted that it was his understanding that the reservoirs would be filled to 90-95% full during RFW events in accordance with District policy, as reported in the OC Register. Mr. Vecchiarelli commented that he was not aware of any policy established by the Board concerning operation during RFW events. This was followed by a report by Mr. DeCriscio on reservoir operational practices of the District. He noted that the primary requirement is to operate the water system and reservoirs to meet water quality standards for the delivery of potable water for the use of all customers. Concerning the operation of Hidden Hills (HH) Reservoir, Mr. DeCriscio indicated that in order to maintain water quality, the volume of water in the reservoir is 1 currently drawn down to 3 ft deep, and then pumped-fill begins, in order to bring in fresher water. He noted that at the 3 ft minimum depth, the volume still exceeds the 180,000-gallon volume established by the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) for one residential fire. He also noted that the measure of water quality is the chlorine residual concentration, which is continuously monitored with a chlorine residual analyzer in HH Reservoir. Mr. Vecchiarelli indicated that delivery of water for fire protection is secondary to complying with water quality standards. He also noted that the water system is designed to deliver fire flow for one residential fire at a time in each service zone, which is the standard of the water industry. He stated that the District will endeavor to deliver above and beyond this design standard if there is more than one fire in a water service zone, as was the case during the Freeway Complex Fire, but the District cannot guarantee to meet all water demands, such as in this catastrophic wild fire. Mr. DeCriscio indicated that in normal operation, reservoirs may operate with a volume less than 50% full so as to cycle the water out into the system for use, and not allow it to remain in storage for more than a few days. This is necessary in order for the water to maintain its chlorine residual and to comply with water quality standards. This can be challenging with the water stored in Hidden Hills (HH) Reservoir because there are less than 140 homes served by this reservoir. On a normal day, the water used by the residents of these homes is in the range of 100,000 to 150,000 gallons. The storage capacity of the reservoir is two million gallons, which means that if the reservoir was kept full, only 5% to 8% of the volume would be used on an average day. This would result in old or "stale" water that would not meet water quality standards. As a result, HH Reservoir is normally operated between a low-water volume of 200,000 gallons and a high-water volume of 600,000-700,000 gallons, with water stored in only one bay of the two-bay reservoir. Mr. DeCriscio noted that HH Reservoir minimum volume is 200,000 gallons, which is the volume established by OCFA to fight one residential fire. Drawing down to this volume allows capacity for new, fresh water to be pumped in on a regular basis. He also noted that he receives a text message of an impending Red Flag condition, or of an impending windy condition. In these impending conditions, he directs staff to activate pumps and initiate a fill cycle in HH Reservoir and other reservoirs. Discussion followed on how the District works to make use of the extra volume pumped in after the end of a RFW, and minimize any dumping of water to waste. Mr. Schock commented that if HH reservoir volume is 200,000 gallons at the time a RFW is received and the pumps at Santiago are activated and can discharge 2,000 gpm to HH reservoir, it would take 1000 minutes (16 2 hours) to feed 2 million gallons to the reservoir. Mr. DeCriscio noted that the District tries to get a head start by initiating pumping at the first sign of wind. Mr. Vecchiarelli commented that the 2008 Fire was larger than could be handled by a public water system designed in accordance with water industry standards. On the issue of water storage and water quality, Mr. Schock asked if HH reservoir could be used as storage to serve all of the hill area to increase the use of HH reservoir. Mr. DeCriscio responded that the same volume of storage must be provided between Santiago and HH reservoirs to meet demands. Mr. Vecchiarelli commented that there are five pressure zones in the Hidden Hills area, two zones served from HH reservoir and three from Santiago. To serve all five zones from HH reservoir would be expensive and would waste energy, because the water would have to be pumped up to HH reservoir and then served sequentially back down the hills through five pressure zones. Mr. Short asked, following a RFW and the filling of HH reservoir, how long can the high reservoir level be maintained? Mr. DeCriscio answered that the high level must be cycled down in about three days. In that period, the District will monitor the chlorine residual and will draw down the level through normal water consumption by residential use. Concerning the issue of District policy during RFWs, Mr. Vecchiarelli commented that he was not aware of any, but will check. Directors Collett and Kiley indicated that they were not aware of any formal Board policy on this matter. Director Kiley commented that the City of YL is reviewing building code requirements for residential areas in the fire zone. Questions and comments that came out of the discussion include the following: • The Committee asked that this information presented by staff be made to the full Board at its March 22 meeting. • That the meeting time be rescheduled to 4 pm that day, if possible, to accommodate attendance by the residents and others. • What is the District's policy or goal for water storage in Red Flag Warning conditions? • Mr. Schock made a verbal request to modify his Public Information Request to be water volume stored in Hidden Hills, Santiago, and Chino Hills reservoirs for the time period of Yorba Linda Red Flag Warning Dates and times, as listed in a table provided by Mr. Schock, from October 2011 to January 2012. • The Committee asked staff to determine what would be required to have the above data retrievable on a continuing rolling basis for the current six-month period. 3 At the close of this discussion item, all of the attendees from the Hidden Hills community departed, except for Mr. Schock, who stayed until the end of the meeting. 3. ACTION CALENDAR 3.1. Award of Construction Contract for Yorba Linda Blvd Pipeline Project Mr. Conklin reported that 19 bids were received for the construction of the subject project, with Garcia Juarez Construction, Inc (GJC) as the low bidder. The bid package and references of GJC were reviewed by staff and found to be in order. In addition, there was material received from the Center for Contract Compliance, a labor-management organization, with information of concern regarding past performance by GJC. District staff and legal counsel reviewed the information and met with the president of GJC to discuss the information. All of the questions and concerns were adequately addressed to the satisfaction of staff and legal counsel. After discussion, the Committee supported the staff recommendation that the Board award the contract for construction of the Yorba Linda Blvd Pipeline Project to GJC for $1,681,650. 3.2. Well No. 20 Engineering Services Amendment No. 4 with Civiltec Engineering, Inc. Mr. Conklin reported that additional construction management services were required beyond that specified in the Professional Services Agreement and that an amendment is requested to provide the additional necessary services. Following discussion, the Committee supported the staff recommendation that the Board authorize approval of Engineering Services Amendment No. 4 for $6,730 with Civiltec Engineering, resulting in a total fee of $103,065. 3.3. Change Order No. 1 for the Fairmont Reservoir Valve Replacement Project Mr. Conklin reported that work is proceeding with construction of the subject project and should be complete by the end of March. However, after the contract was awarded to Pascal & Ludwig Constructors on October 13, 2011, it was found that the necessary valves would require 12 weeks fabrication time (as confirmed in writing by the supplier) rather than the earlier quoted 6 weeks. Following discussion, the Committee supported the staff recommendation that the Board approve Change Order No. 1, a no-cost, 37 calendar-day contract time extension for the Project. 4 4. DISCUSSION ITEMS CONTINUED 4.1. Draft FY 2012/13 Engineering Department Budget Mr. Conklin presented the draft Engineering Department Budget. He reported that the Supplies and Services Budget was reduced by 48% from the current year, primarily due to a reduction in the budgeting of professional services, specifically consulting services. He noted that if the need for these services arises, and if approved by the General Manager or Board as necessary, funding will be provided from a reserve account for this purpose. The Committee reviewed the numbers and had no questions. 4.2. Draft FY 2012/13 Operations Department Budget Mr. Cory presented the draft Operations Department Budget. He reported on the elements of the draft Supplies and Services Budget and noted that, overall, it will be reduced by $85,625 (5.5%) from the current year. The Committee reviewed the numbers and had no questions. 4.3. Monthly Preventative Maintenance Program Report Mr. Cory reported on PM status for February, noting that our crews are on target for the work elements listed. He pointed out two new categories listed, Water Leaks and Meters, with the work elements for each. It was also noted that our crews are making good progress now on sewer televising and are approaching the target goal. 4.4. Monthly Groundwater Production and Purchased Import Water Report Mr. Conklin reported that for the month of February, water demand was 11% above our projected value; however, for the FY to date (8 months) we are 4.4% under our demand projection. Our groundwater use remains high, at 68% of our total use for the month, and cumulatively to date it is almost 43% for the FY. 4.5. Development of a Monthly Production Summary Report Mr. Cory reported that the Production Department is developing a new monthly report to provide a summary of key operational information. The purpose of the new report will be to apprise the Board of important operational information in a brief summary format. Draft report layouts were presented to the Committee to review. Following discussion, the Committee favored the report that presented the information in tabular box format. 4.6. Groundwater Producers Meeting Report Mr. Conklin reported on the items discussed at the February 8 GWP meeting. 4.7. Status Report on Capital Projects in Progress Mr. Conklin reported on the status of capital projects currently in planning, design and construction. 5 4.8. Status of Strategic Plan Initiatives Mr. Conklin reported on the status of strategic plan objectives that relate to engineering and operations. 4.9. Future Agenda Items and Staff Tasks None. 5. ADJOURNMENT 5.1. The meeting adjourned at 6:20 p.m. The next meeting of the Planning- Engineering-Operations Committee will be held April 9, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. 6