real estate - Idyllwild Town Crier

Idyllwild Town Crier, June 29, 2006 - Page 19
IWD plans onsite waste maintenance program
By J.P. Crumrine
Assistant Editor
The Idyllwild Water District’s
(IWD) directors devoted
most of last week’s
meeting to discussing the
future. A new program, a new
budget and the plan to renew
the land use permit were the
primary topics during the
evening.
Maintenance of
onsite waste
treatment sites
For nearly a year, the board
has been discussing the introduction
of alternative onsite
wastewater treatment systems
(OWTS) to the district. The
state is preparing regulations
to encourage these systems
on land where conventional
septic systems would not
function.
In May, the Riverside
County Board of Supervisors
passed an ordinance authorizing
an OWTS whenever
a septic system has failed.
The county Department of
Environmental Health (DEH)
is already testing these alternative
systems in other parts of
the county.
IWD is encouraging installing
a system on the Hill.
After speaking with the DEH,
General Manager Terry Lyons
presented a plan to the board
with the support of the Septic
and Reclaimed Water Committee,
chaired by Director
Mike Freitas.
“Because of the high levels
of groundwater in some locations,
we investigated whether
SHARON LASKIN
REALTOR-ASSOCIATE
Cell: (714) 745-3727
we had an answer for people
in the future,” Freitas said.
IWD plans to become the
certified service provider for
one or more of the approved
OWTS manufacturers. According
to Lyons, the county
is willing to permit one system
on the Hill. This would
be a one-year pilot test of the
utility of the system in this
environment.
Riverside County will require
homeowners to have
a contract with a service
provider to ensure adequate
maintenance of the OWTS.
Proof of maintenance service
will be necessary before the
county permits installing the
system.
IWD intends to become
the local maintenance service.
Lyons presented the board
with a draft service agreement
between the district
and potential homeowners.
The initial maintenance cost
would be $525 annually.
Any system failures would
still be the responsibility of
the property owner, not the
district, Lyons assured the
board.
“I want to stress we have
nothing to do with septic
tanks now or in the past,” Freitas
said. “With the new systems,
which are pretty much
the same, all we’re doing is
becoming the maintenance
service group. All we have to
do is train some staff.”
The decision of which
system to install is the property
owner’s and dependent
upon which systems Riverside
County approves. IWD would
Village Center Office
54274 N. Circle Dr.
(951) 659-3425
1-866-680-3425
sharon@idyllwildrealtor.com
service any OWTS provider
eligible to install a system
within its jurisdiction.
Lyons did add that IWD
could not maintain systems
outside the district unless it
had an agreement with Fern
Valley or Pine Cove water
districts.
IWD President Allan Morphett
announced that he, Freitas
and Lyons would present
the proposed pilot program
to the Idyllwild Board of
Realtors on July 17.
Following the board’s discussion,
Justin Jones of Inland
Backhoe offered several
suggestions and raised some
questions. Jones was very
supportive of the alternative
systems. He acknowledged
that California was slow to
adopt this technology compared
to most other states.
“There are only a handful
of properties that meet the requirements
for the advanced
systems,” Jones said. “This
system is not a perfect cureall
for everything. I consider
sewer lines the only safe option
for high groundwater
sites.”
He then added, “The water
district should not consider
investing too much in becoming
a service representative. If
I became a certified installer,
I could offer service as well
and perhaps free with installation.”
“If Justin wants to do that,
fine. We’re not in competition,”
Morphett said later. “We
just want the job done. We
were only planning to do it
because no one else seemed
prepared, so we were stepping
up to the plate.”
Test well results and
water usage
The pumping results for
test wells nos. 5 and 6 were
very encouraging, according
to Lyons. He announced
plans to develop both test
wells next year. The estimated
production rates were 20 to
25 gallons per minute (gpm)
for one well and 25 to 30 gpm
for the other well.
“These are drought wells,
not primary wells,” he stressed.
“I expect they will be online
next spring.” The cost of producing
water from these wells
will be about four times the
cost of water from the Foster
Lake wells — the reason why
they will be reserve wells.
Well no. 26 and the two
test wells bring the district’s
total water production to 585
gpm, only 10 percent short of
its summertime goal of 650
gpm, Lyons added.
Lyons attributed the success
at these two sites compared
to the four test sites on
the Idyllwild Pines campus to
his use of the electroseismography
studies. The new wells
will be a welcome addition to
the IWD reserves.
For the first five months of
2006, district production was
nearly 10 percent more than
the comparable period in
2005. Fern Valley Water District
is experiencing a similar
surge in usage through April.
But Pine Cove customers have
only increased usage by 6,000
gallons or 0.5 percent through
54278 No. Circle Drive
Downtown Idyllwild
Chris Riesen
Realtor Associate
(951) 659-2114
chrisriesen@verizon.net
May.
Budgets — current and
future
Although the current year
water budget income is shy of
the projected net income for
the first 11 months, IWD has
still generated $96,000 for the
water budget and $100,000 in
sewer income.
The board also adopted a
budget for the 2006-07 fiscal
year.
“There is no rate increase
— base or usage,” announced
Director Jim Billman. He
described several highlights,
including that the program
operating expenses are only
0.5 percent higher, rehabilitating
five wells, recoating a
Foster lake tank, developing
two well sites, completing
the videotaping of the distribution
system and some
mainline replacement work.
The total 2006-07 water
budget is $796,000 and
the projected net income is
$337,000. The sewer budget
is estimated to be $402,000
with a $116,000 net income.
“We tried to trim as much
as possible in light of fuel and
power costs this year,” Lyons
said.
The capital budgets, particularly
sewer, grow considerably
next year. Water
Open House • Sat., July 1
12 p.m.-3p.m.
REDUCED!
investments go from $195,000
to $348,000 and sewer will
increase to $297,000 from
only $1,350 this year. Almost
all the sewer capital expenses
will be for coating pipeline
from the treatment plant to
the sludge ponds.
After completing the maintenance
work on the five
wells, Lyons hopes to increase
their production by 25 gpm,
equivalent to a new well.
Solar project
The IWD Foster Lake
solar project has been operational
since November.
Controller/Auditor Jim Ludy
presented an interim report
of the results through May. A
total of 41,900 kilowatts have
been generated. The project
has saved the district $2,750
in electric charges, including
a total offset in April and
May.
Forest Service Permit
The studies necessary to
renew the permit for the
wastewater treatment plant
on Forest Service land are
underway, Lyons reported.
Near the end of July or early
August, Lyons anticipates a
public meeting to describe
the plan and proposal. This
will be coordinated with the
See IWD, next page
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NORTH CIRCLE OFFICE
TRISCHA CLARK
REALTOR ® Associate
54295 North Circle Drive
P.O. Box 243, Idyllwild, CA 92549
E-mail: trischa@idyllwildrealtor.com
Bus: (951) 659-2125
Cell: (951) 288-8789
Fax: (951) 659-2127
www.idyllwildproperty.com
DORA DILLMAN
Realtor-Associate
Village Center Office
54274 North Circle Dr.
P.O. Box 243, Idyllwild, Ca 92549
E-mail: dora@lovethehill.com
www.lovethehill.com
Cell: (951) 288-5604
Bus: (951) 659-3425
1-866-680-3425
Fax: (951) 659-3415
MLS
Cell (951) 907-9818
Susanne Rossler Office (951) 659-3425 or 866-680-3425
REALTOR-ASSOCIATE
Fax (951) 659-0180
Village Center Office e-mail: susanne@lovethehill.com
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