Highlights:
1. Utilities: With some concern about the state of the Water & Sanitary Utilities, the Boards will be working with the District Manager to evaluate the planned projects, set priorities and determine if /how much additional staff is required.
2. Watershed: Options for paying for the ongoing operational costs of the Watershed and plans for the network of roads in the Watershed are outlined.
An in-person Educational Forum will he held on Saturday November 18th at 10:30 am at the Arch Cape Firehouse to present and discuss the work done to date on “Managing the Watershed and Paying for it.
A. The Water and Sanitary Utilities
Concern: State of the Districts’ Plant & Equipment
The Water and Sanitary plants and equipment are over 20 years old and have been neglected for at least the past several years. District Staff is spending significant time keeping up with the core operational functions and reacting to problems that occur. They are not able to get ahead of the curve and prevent problems by putting things in good working order, much less to do any new projects, mandated or otherwise.
Upon Board request, Matt (District Manager) has been doing detailed project planning for both Districts. He has identified tasks and resources required to: a) operate the plant, 2) complete the list of previously deferred maintenance identified on the Engineer’s report, 3) do preventative maintenance and 4) keep up with all state mandated project and capital improvement projects. Initial review by the Board suggests that more than 2 staff are required to successfully accomplish everything that has to be done.
Adding District staff will have impact on the financials of the Districts. In order to make informed decisions about the work that is to be undertaken and the costs to rate payers of doing that work, it is prudent and fiduciarily responsible for the Boards to review in depth and discuss the proposed plan.
To that end, a series of Strategic Work Sessions are being convened to review and understand each of the projects identified in the planning document, their priorities, their sequences, and the staff resources required. The Boards may come to preliminary conclusions in these work sessions, but any final decisions about adding staff resources will be made at a regular board meeting at the conclusion of the process, and before we begin the budget cycle in the spring. The Community is invited and encourage to join in the Work Sessions.
The Strategic Work Sessions will be held the first Wednesday of each month at 3:00 PM and will continue until all of the projects are considered. (The first meeting will be December 6th.) These meetings will be held via Zoom and will last no more than 90 minutes each.
Project Planning Document <<Click Here>>
Great News! No PFAS in our Drinking Water
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large, complex group of synthetic chemicals that have been used in consumer products around the world since about the 1950s. They are ingredients in various everyday products. For example, PFAS are used to keep food from sticking to packaging or cookware, make clothes and carpets resistant to stains, and create firefighting foam that is more effective. PFAS are used in the aerospace, automotive, construction, and electronics industries. Over time, PFAS may leak into the soil, water, and air.
People are most likely exposed to these chemicals by consuming PFAS-contaminated water or food, using products made with PFAS, or breathing air containing PFAS.
Last month Matt touched base with an EPA certified lab and got instructions on how to sample our drinking water. Samples were sent to the lab. No PFAS were detected.
B. Our Watershed
Options for how we will pay to manage and operate the District
Significant work been done by the Finance Committee to develop a process for figuring out what needs to be done to manage and operate the Watershed, the associated costs and how we will pay for it. The Board is very interested in briefing the community on this information as an important first step to kick-off an on-going discussion about the Community’s preferences.
A Zoom Educational Forum was held on November 4.
An in-person Eductional Forum will he held on Saturday November 18th at 10:30 am at the Arch Cape Firehouse to present and discuss the work done to date on “Managing the Watershed and Paying for it.“
Click here to see the updated version of the Briefing document. <<Click Here>>
The network of roads in the Watershed will be simplified
The District is now is the process of selecting and contracting with a Roads Contractor to repair, remove and decommission roads in the Watershed. There are 5 specific projects where roads will be removed or repaired. And there are approximately 5.6 miles of road that will be decommissioned. (Decommissioning typically entails removal of all culverts and a level of excavation between, at a minimum frequent water bars, and at most, full re-contour of the road surface to match the surrounding topography.) This work will done primarily during spring/summer of 2024 and 2025 and is expected to cost around $575,000, which will be paid for with the ARPA monies.
One of the roads to be removed and returned to the natural landscape is the main thoroughfare road that crosses the Drinking Water Source Area from the Hug Point Road to Shingle Mill Road (North-to-South). (Project #3 on the first map linked below.) That project is described on page 128 of the Ecological Road Assessment as:
The HP 19G historically provided important access between the Shingle Mill area and the Hug Point gate. Unfortunately, a mass soil movement closed this road beginning in 2015, with complete closure in 2019 when the fills were removed. At that time, a geotech from the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) evaluated the site and determined that road reconstruction was not advisable. (ODF has now said it would not be allowable to re-build across the slump, not just not advisable). The road exists on the toe of a deep-seated landslide that also impacted the HP19, leading to closure. Unfortunately the past decommissioning did not fully allow for water passage and the fill is still saturated and sliding down the hill. In addition, this is a popular hiking route, which has lead to sedimentation in the stream. A full removal of the road is recommended combined with removal of the large culvert on Asbury Creek, 150’ south from the slump. All locations would be stabilized with small pedestrian-passable walkways. This project is inside the DWSA
At the end of all of the road work, the current 13+ miles of road will be reduced to 6+ miles road. The linked maps below show the work that is planned and the resulting road network. (see Map link below)
Map of Roads Maintenance Plan. <Click Here>. (The first map is the plan for the road work and the second map is what it will look like afterwards).
A.C. Water District Board (Go to Home Page) 