HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.15.2019 WB Minutes Special MtgMINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING
OF THE
WATER BOARD - CITY OF BAKERSFIELD
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 - 2:00 p.m.
City Hall North Conference Room A
1600 Truxtun Ave, Bakersfield, CA 93301
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Smith called the meeting to order at 2:02 p.m.
2. ROLL CALL
Present: Chairman Smith, Member Weir
Absent: Member Parlier
3. MINUTES
A. Minutes of the Special Meeting of February 13, 2019 for approval.
Motion by Member Weir to approve the Minutes of February 13, 2019.
APPROVED ALL AYES, PARLIER ABSENT.
4. PUBLIC STATEMENTS
Dennis Fox spoke about three books regarding Water. Board information only, no
action taken.
Geoff Fulks, California Water Service Company (Cal Water) District Manager,
introduced new staff: Jim Green, Assistant Manager and Rafael Molina, Assistant
Manager. Art Chianello, Water Resources Manager spoke briefly regarding the
leadership change at Cal Water and acknowledged that Cal Water has been
doing a great job operating and maintaining the City of Bakersfield's domestic
water system. Cal Water played a major role in managing the well sites under
construction for the TCP mitigation project and performing all the testing and
sampling to get the granular activated carbon vessels online. Out of the 34 well
sites requiring treatment, 33 of the 34 are operational and the remaining one to
be operational soon. Board information only, no action taken.
5. KERN RIVER LEVEE DISTRICT - None
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MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING
OF THE
WATER BOARD - CITY OF BAKERSFIELD
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 - 2:00 p.m.
City Hall North Conference Room A
1600 Truxtun Ave, Bakersfield, CA 93301
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Smith called the meeting to order at 2:02 p.m.
2. ROLL CALL
Present: Chairman Smith, Member Weir
Absent: Member Parlier
3. MINUTES
A. Minutes of the Special Meeting of February 13, 2019 for approval.
Motion by Member Weir to approve the Minutes of February 13, 2019.
APPROVED ALL AYES, PARLIER ABSENT.
4. PUBLIC STATEMENTS
Dennis Fox spoke about three books regarding Water. Board information only, no
action taken.
Geoff Fulks, California Water Service Company (Cal Water) District Manager,
introduced new staff: Jim Green, Assistant Manager and Rafael Molina, Assistant
Manager. Art Chianello, Water Resources Manager spoke briefly regarding the
leadership change at Cal Water and acknowledged that Cal Water has been
doing a great job operating and maintaining the City of Bakersfield's domestic
water system. Cal Water played a major role in managing the well sites under
construction for the TCP mitigation project and performing all the testing and
sampling to get the granular activated carbon vessels online. Out of the 34 well
sites requiring treatment, 33 of the 34 are operational and the remaining one to
be operational soon. Board information only, no action taken.
5. KERN RIVER LEVEE DISTRICT - None
Bakersfield, California, May 15, 2019 - Page 2
6. REPORTS
A. Kern River & Isabella Reservoir Operations Report
Miguel Chavez, Hydrographic Supervisor, gave an overview of the Kern
River natural flow, regulated flow, Isabella Reservoir storage, and snow
pack accumulation. Mr. Chavez stated since our last meeting, the Kern
River Basin has received significant storms that have raised the Snowpack
to above normal levels for this water year. Snow accumulation escalated
quickly during the months of January through March. The most significant
storm occurred on March 5t" -6t", which produced an average of 6.5 inches
of snow depth across the Kern River Basin over a 48-hour period. Currently
the Department of Water Resources is forecasting a 170% of normal water
yield during the peak snowmelt months of April thru July and 150% of
normal water year which dates from October 2018 thru September 2019.
As of midnight, the Kern River inflow was at 4,883 cubic feet per second
(cfs), regulated outflow was 2,912 cfs and storage level at Lake Isabella
was 323,830 acre feet (af). The Kern River has had a continuous flow from
Golden State Highway to the City's 2800 acres' spreading facility since
February 2019. During the months of February and March, the flows seen
in the river were a combination of Friant and State water supply. Kern River
Supply took over as the main source of water for the river on April l st,
however Friant supply also was included for a period of time during April.
Currently, water can be seen flowing from Manor Street all the way out to
the City's 2800 acres spreading facility with the source of this water being
95% Kern River supply and 5% Friant supply. Looking ahead, we can
expect more of the same as the river should continue flowing through
August of this year. Mr. Chavez presented a slide regarding Lake Isabella
storage capacity comparison between February 1 It and May 1 It. The City
on May 1 It was utilizing 26% of total storage compared to 12% of storage
on February 1st, more than doubling storage in Lake Isabella. Also, Mr.
Chavez presented a slide showing how the City plans on utilizing its
estimated 225,000 af. water for the 2019 calendar year. Board information
only, no action taken.
B. Update on Water Usage in the City's Domestic Water Service Area for
March 2019
Art Chianello, Water Resources Manager, referenced graphs that show
the water usage for the City's Domestic Water Service Area from January
2019 through March 2019 and the monthly percentage reduction (or
increase) for the service area for the same period compared to the 2013
baseline. From January 2019 through March 2019 the City's Domestic
Water Service Area saved 695 acre feet compared to 2013 quantities. The
cumulative water savings over this time period is about 12% reduction from
2013 baseline. The water savings amounts stated are for total water
deliveries in the system. It should be noted that the City's Domestic Water
System has
Bakersfield, California, May 15, 2019 - Page 3
6. REPORTS (cont.)
grown over the past six years. In March 2013, the population served by the
City domestic water system was approximately 135,321 residents and in
March 2019, the population served is about 152,810 residents. This is a
population increase of about 11.4% over the six-year period. Therefore,
considering the population growth in the City's system and water use over
these time periods equates to a water use reduction of approximately
34.6% per person. This reduction is mainly due to the weather during the
month of March. Bakersfield received 2.01 inches of rain which was 66%
above average for March. Geoff Fulks, Cal Water District Manager
concurred with Mr. Chianello as Cal Water had similar percentages for
March 2019. Boardinformation only, no action taken.
7. NEW BUSINESS
A. Amendment to Agreement with Sierra Snow Surveys to conduct snow
surveying
City Council approved Agreement # 18-186 with Sierra Snow Surveys in the
amount of $60,000 to perform snow measurements on thirteen (13) Kern
River snow courses in the southern Sierra Nevada mountain range. This
year being a wet year, Sierra Snow Surveys was requested to conduct an
additional measurement in May 2019. In addition to the cost of May 2019
snow surveying, a proposal was received from Sierra Snow Surveys to
perform February -April 2020 snow surveys for the same cost of $60,000. City
staff is proposing to amend the agreement with Sierra Snow Surveys for
work performed in May 2019 and also to be performed in 2020 for an
amount not to exceed $80,000 and extend the contract through June 30,
2020. Chairman Smith inquired to how many times Sierra Snow Surveys
perform a measurement. John Ryan, Water Resources Superintendent
stated it is usually the last week of the months of February, March, and
April. Member Weir verified the cost and amount of agreement and asked
Mr. Chianello to have the amended amount exactly match the proposal.
Motion by Weir to refer amendment to agreement with discussed changes
to City Council. APPROVED ALL AYES, PARLIER ABSENT
8. WATER BOARD STATEMENTS
Chairman Smith inquired to the current amount of water flowing in the Kern
River. Mr. Chavez reported 2,900 cubic feet per second (cfs) coming out
of Lake Isabella with flow downstream at Coffee Road of 1100 cfs with an
additional 200 cfs inflow of Friant Water.
9. CLOSED SESSION - None
10. CLOSED SESSION ACTION - None
Bakersfield, California, May 15, 2019 - Page 4
ADJOURNMENT
Chairman Smith adjourned the meeting at 2:23 p.m.
2
611, Bob Smith, Chairman
City of Bakersfield Water Board
Kimberly Alem n, Acting Secretary
City of Bakersfield Water Board