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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/08/78 AGENDA WATER BOARD - CITY OF BAKERSFIELD WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1978 4:00 P.M. Call Meeting to order Roll Call - Board Members: Rogers, Chairman; Barton, Ratty, Bergen Hoagland 1. Approve minutes of recessed meeting of October 5, 1978. 2. Scheduled Public Statements. 3. Letter to Cawelo Water District regarding water supply.- BOARD TO APPROVE AND AUTHORIZE CHAI~N TO SIGN. 4. Staff Comments 5. Board Comments 6. Adjournment AGENDA WATER BOARD - CITY OF BAKERSFIELD WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1978 4:00 P.M. Call Meeting to order Roll Call - Board Members: Rogers, Chairman; Barton, Ratty, Bergen Hoagland 1. Approve minutes of recessed meeting of October 5, 1978. 2. Scheduled Public Statements. 3. Letter to Cawelo Water District regarding water supply.- BOARD TO APPROVE AND AUTHORIZE CHAIrmAN TO SIGN. ~ 4. Staff Comments 5. Board Comments 6. Adjournment MINUTES WATER BOARD - CITY OF BAKERSFIELD RECESSED MEETING THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1978 11:30 A.M. The meeting was called to order at 11:30 A.M. by Vice-Chair- man Ratty in the City Hall Caucus Room. The secretary called the roll as follows: Present: Barton, Ratty, Hoagland Absent: Rogers, Bergen Staff Present: Bogart, Chafin, Hostmyer, Oberholzer, Stetson Others Present: Stanley Hatch The minutes from the recessed meeting of August 4, 1978, were approved as presented. An Agreement between the City of Bakersfield and Hatch and Parent, a professional law corporation, to retain their services, as special counsel was presented to the board for approval. A discussion followed in regard to the retainer fee and Mr. HatCh's policy regarding the charge of his time while in travel. Mr. Hatch explained he charges full time for travel between 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M.-, and usually half time is charged at other hours. However, he does not always bill in this manner,, he just uses his own judgement as to whether or not he is doing something useful for the client. After further discussion a motion was made by Mr. Hoagland that the board approve the agreement as modified, omitting the clause requiring the retainer fee, and authorize the Chairman to sign. The motion was passed by the following roll call vote: Ayes: Barton, Ratty, Hoagland Noes: None Absent: Rogers, Bergen Mr. Hatch at this time addressed the board stating that he and Mr. Stetson had gone over various problems that he will be needing to get some background on. His intention would be to work with Mr. Chafin and Mr. Stetson to develope some background and strategy in that regard, and bring back to the board some information to indicate where he should begin to establish a priority list. There being no further business to come before the board, Vice-Chairman Ratty adjourned the meeting at 11:55j~_~4. Donald A. Rogers,' Chairman City of Bakersfield ~ater Board ~?~~y e r ,~S~a~y ~ City of Bakersfield Water Board '"~, 0 F "; , ---'-- ' -- , CALIFORNIA ~ ~___.,.~ =._--- DEPARTMENT OF WATER ~ -: ~ . November 8, 1978 Board of Directors Cawelo Water District 1415 18th Street, Room 305 Bakersfield, California 93301 RE: CITY OF BAKERSFIELD CONTRACTUAL WATER DELIVERIES DURING 1978 Gentlemen: " We are in receipt of a letter dated September 27, 1978 from your engineer, Mr. R. L. Schafer, advising us that certain deliveries of Kern River,water to your district under our Agreement No. 76-62 are vagrant waters, not subject to ownership or allocation of any entity. We are dismayed by this unsolicited advice which has no legal basis in the contractual document regulating the relationship between the City and your District. Mr. Schafer's assertions are both factually and legally wrong on many counts, among which are the following: 1. The water delivered was at all times under control at the diversion point. 2. Your District has no means of diversion from the Kern River except through its contracutal arrangements. 3. Article',VI, Section 6.la, of Agreement No. 76-62 specifies the point of delivery of Kern River water; Section 6.lb provides that water deliveries" . . will be determined by City on the basis of the quahtityof City nonutility water in storage in Lake Isabella and the forecast of natural runoff of the Kern River for that year"; and Section 6.1c provides the only means by which the district can revise its monthly delivery schedule. 1501 TRUXTUN AVENUE · ' BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA 93301 · (805) 861-2715 ~age 2 4~ Article VI, S~ction 6.2 provides for the means of transportation of Kern River Water to the district. 5.- Article VIII, Section 8.1 provides that the district agrees that nothing in Agreement No. 76-62 shall"' affect or~ change the existing Kern River rights'or Lake Isabella storage rights of City; and that the district further agrees that it will not claim'any right against City to the use of Kern River water, including Released Water, other than that provided ' in Agreement 76-62. 6. Article VIII, Section 8.1 goes on to say that if the district claims its receipt or use of waters of the Kern River creates, constitutes or establishes a 'right to the use Of such water against City at any time or in any manner or for any purpose except pur- suant to and in accordance with Agreement No. 76-62 that the claim shall.be void ab initio; and if the district endeavors to establish any right to any such water as against City, then City may terminate' its deliveries of water to the district under the agreement. 7. Flood waters do not include high waters flowing in the natural channel of a stream because they have not escaped from the stream. Earlier this year, Mr. Schafer and Mr. John Jones, your Manager, met with Mr. Gene Bogart of our Water Department and discussed the matter of diversions of Kern River water to Cawelo Water District during the so-called "mandatory release" period of operations of Lake Isabella. Mr. Bogart advised then at that time that the only water being delivered to Cawelo was water scheduled for delivery under Agrcement No. 76-62; and that CaQelo had no physical facil- ities of its own to divert Kern River Water. Mr. Schafer's.letter comes perilously close'to constituting a 'violation of Section 8.1 of Agreement No. 76-62. To the extent that it'involves a claim'of prior right to Kern River water deliv- ered by the City to the District under the contract, it is void ab initio. The City does not take kindly to Mr. Schafer advising the City of the' quantities of water which he erroneously thinks are chargeable by the City under Agreement No'. 76-62. Further, he is'not even the Administrative Agent of Cawelo under the terms of the agreemen~ (Section 11.7). ~age 3 We reluctantly note that this is the second time in two years that Cawelo, or its representatives, has attempted to unilaterally mod- ify its agreement with the City -- last year it was on the subject of the price of water after the City had undertaken extraordinary efforts %o make additional water available to Cawelo in one of the driest years in history~ We have not had such problems with our other contractors. We would ask you to insure that in the future your employees adhere, strictly to the terms of Agreement No. 76-62 with the City. It is only in this way that the spirit of coopera- tion and mutual benefit which inspired the contract originally can be continued. Sincerely, Donald A. Rogers, Chairman City of Bakersfield Water Board DAR:lh APPROVED AS TO FORM: City Attorney PC~['r~'~lit F (DFFIC[ VIC. ALIA OFFICE ~ o.~, ~' ~ ~ R.L. SGItAFER & ASSOGIATES, ING. ~.o. eo~2~ 881 WSs~ ~Aor~o~ St. ' ' - 2~4 Wes~ Main St. Porterville, Califo[nia93257 ' GIVIL ~ GONSULTING ENGINEERS Visalia. Californio932~ Ph. (2~) 781-0102/688-~49 Ph. (2~) 734.1348[ September 27, 1978 City of Bakersfield 1501 Truxtun Avenue Bakersfield, CA 93301 Attention: Mr. Gene Bogart, Water Superintendent Dear Mr. Bogart: Your letter of August 16, 1978 set forth monthly quantities in acre-feet of the "status of City Kern River deliveries to Cawelo Water District in 1978". We do not disagree that the quantities of~ Kern River water were-utilized by the District, but ddring the period April 5, 1978 through June 25, 1978, the Corps of Engineers required flood releases from Isabella Reservoir and such waters are vagrant and not subject to ownership or allocation of any entity. Therefore, the quantities chargeable by the City to Cawelo Water District, ~January through July, 1978, under the agreement should be as follows: City to Cawelo W.D. Month (acre-feet) January. 202 February - 34 March ~, 458 April 67 May 0 June 1., July 9',780 City to Cawelo W.D. Jan.-July '78 12,094 acre-feet. Very trul~ours, R. L. Schafer RLS/dc cc: Mr. Stephen Wall Ca,,,elo Water District sEP 2 O ' . MEMORANDUM . October 2 1978 John' chef in FROM ................................... , ............................................................... ~ ......................... : ................................... ' ........... 5UBJFCT Memo from Gene Begat% concerning Cawel'o water supply via the Beardsley Canal during the period o2 mandatory ~oo~ control' · release in 1978. -I discussed %his situation with Tom Stetson' and we both agreed that in our opinion Cawelo Water District could divert into the Beardsley Canal only that water under the City/Cawelo basic contract. Attached find Gene Bogar~'s memo to me and the letter he received from R. L Schafer, who is the consulting engineer for Cawelo Water District. lh cc: K', Hoagland T, Stetson G. Bogart . .:. ,-....~:.? ..... .~ ...~., ....... -. .......... ; ............. . ..... .-. .  ' MEMORANDUM .... - .... . .. . .... .~.~.~...~.~...~.~.~.~. .................. · 0 ......... ' .... '..'~;.~.~g.~...~.,...~.~..'~.~;..~.;.~ .... : ....... ::..-~..:.~ ........ ~...~ ...... ....::: ..... : .... : .................... : .... :..=~:~.~-:~..=~== ..... .-.~. FROM geDe District received during ~he "mandatory release" opera~ion of the Kern River was .chargeable %o %he Cawelo basic contract. I said yes. ' ~ .., Dick S~afer %hen offered_a~ l'i_~tl'e ...background on %he opera%ion..'of-'~'. ' - %he Tule River during'the periods of flood release j---Dick-then ............ wen% on %o say. ~ha% %he Kern River during flood release periods contained "vagrant" wa%ers and as such were "up for grabs, so speak..." I told Dick Schafer that Cawelo Wa%er District did no% have '%he .physical facilities ~%o divert'Kern River wa%er directly from %he River Channel. Dick Schafer did not ~ues~ion %his point but did request %hat since Kerb River water was leaving %he Coun.~y via %he Intertie that some consideration be given Cawelo Water District'. I explained %o both John Jones and Dick Schafer that since the City/Cawel0 ba~-ic contract con,.al'ns'no provisions nor makes any"- reference %o "flo6'd' ~ele~se" or "mhndatory release" wa%ers, %hat I had no Choice. but ~o consider Cawelo~ deliveries as "Basic Contract Water"' and that any other interpretation would be a decision coming from "over my head." With %hat the meeting concluded, %hey~ thanked me f~r'my time and 1%old'them I would pass their request for con- sidera%ion on %o ~he Wa%er Manager. lh WATER BOARD - CITY OF BAKERSFIELD WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1978 4:00 P.M. 3. ~,~ a. Letter from William T. Balch, Tenneco West, IncC'Ito Donald A. Rogers, Chairman; City of Bakersfield Water Board regarding the 2800 acres owned by the City. - FOR DISCUSSION - BOARD TO DETE~[INE ACTION. T~n~o West, Inc. P.o. Box 9380 A Tenneco Company Bakersfield, California 93309 (805) 832-9010 William 'r. Balch Executive Vice President October 31, 1978 City of Bakersfield Water Board 1501Truxtun Avenue Bakersfield, California 93301 Attention: Mr. Donald A. Rogers, Chairman Gentlemen: We have been informed that the City of Bakersfield is replenishing the groundwater on its 2800 acres in the Kern River Fan with some water that may be owned by others than the City of Bakersfield. This tends to lead us to the conclusion that there may be plans to extract and export the water from the underground basin. After making several preliminary studies on the underground water basin, we believe that several operational requirements should be established in order to prevent any adverse groundwater effects. Therefore, we respectfully request a meeting with either your board or your staff before your plans are fin- alized in order to assist in working out an acceptable overall program. In this way, we would hope to be helpful in minimizing future conflicts as well as the adverse condi- tions on one or more areas within the groundwater basin. Very truly yours, WTB/d DEPARTMENT OF WATER November 8, 1978 Mel Jans, Vice-President Tenneco West, Inc. P. O. Box 9380 Bakersfield, California 93309 Dear Mr. Jans: The purpose of this letter is to inform you that effective March 1, 1979, the City of Bakersfield Department of Water will discontinue service under Agreement No. 78-03 W.B. regarding the operation and-. maintenance of the Pioneer and Little James canals. After that time City will continue to operate and service only certain por- tions of those facilities as follows: 1) James, Little James - City will remain responsible for the operation of those facilities owned by the City, namely the Big James canal to the Little James head- gate, thence westerly approximately 1. (one) mile to the · point of new construction located in Section 12 of 30/26, M.D.B.&M. 2) Pioneer Headgate - Located in Section 1 of 30/26, this will provide the Pioneer diversion to be coordinated with all other Kern River operations on an orderly scheduled basis. Since it is our understanding that the Pioneer and Little James surface water facilities are soon to become part of the'James- Pioneer Improvement District of the North Kern Water Storage District, it is assumed that North Kern would perform the operation and main- tenance services of James-Pioneer Improvement District. In light of this the Department of Water is willing'to assign City personnel experienced in the Pioneer and Little James operation to assist in 1501 TRUXTUN AVENUE · BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA 93301 · (805) 861-2715 November 8, 1978 ~el Jans, Vice-President Tenneco West, Inc. Page 2 the training of North Kern Water Storage District personnel. The same rate schedule for service that is now in effect would apply through March 1, 1979. This should provide an orderly transition for North Kern Water Storage District operation of James-Pioneer Improvement'District facilities. We have enjoyed the opportunity to service these facilities during the initial year of operation. Sincerely, ~ Donald A. Rogers, Chairman City of Bakersfield Water Board DAR:lh cc: C'.Hi' Williams, North Kern Water Storage District ' ~ ~" 525 N. MAIN STREET -:- PHONE (805) 7~4-5~!0 · P.O. ~ox 755 , BU~ONWILLOW, CALIFORNIA' g3206 DIRECTORS HAROLD K. RUSSELL ~ ~ FREEBORN. pRESIDE~ ENGINEER-~ANAGE~ GARY GAMBLE. VICE PRESIDENT GINO TORIGIANI~ SECR[TAR~ H. JOHN FISHER ROY BELLUOMINI TREAS. & ASST. SEC~. TED BLO~HOF Nove~er 3, 1978 City of Bakersfield Water Board 1501'Truxtun Avenue Bakersfield, CA 93301 Re: Temporary Arrangement for Spreading and Recovery of Water Gentlemen: As you know, negotiations are currently under way for a long- term arrangement for spreading and recovery of water between the .Buena Vista Water Storage District ("Buena Vista" herein), the City of Bakersfield ("City" herein), and others. It is not anticipated '~: 'that this long-term arrangement will be consummated within 'the next few days, whereas Buena Vista is informed that spreading capacity upon lands owned by the City of Bakersfield will become available for use by Buena Vista on or about November 6, 1978. This letter is written to inform you that Buena Vista would like to enter into a temporary arrangement with the City such that it c~n take advantage of the availability of spreading capacity even though we have not reached complete agreement with respect to a long-term-arrangement. It is to be understood that Buena Vista water will be spread under this temporary arrangement with the intention that Buena Vista may later recover the same. To this end, it is agreed that any water spread pursuant to this temporary arrangement shall be' credited to the water bank account of Buena Vista, if any, which may hereafter be created in accordance with the terms and provisions of the long-term arrangement currently being negotiated. Should no such future agreement materialize, it is further agreed that the parties hereto will cooperate with one another in the making of some equitable and reasonable accommodation which will allow for Buena Vista's recovery of its water or some form of compensation to Buena Vista in lieu thereof. It is further agreed that this temporary arrangement shall bind the parties hereto, their respective heirs, successors and assigns. City of Bakersfield .November 3, 1978 Water Board .Page Two In addition, Buena Vista sh'a~l indemnify City, and City shall indemnify Buena Vista, their respective officers, agents and employees for any liability for injury to or death of any person, or damage to property, caused by a negligent or wrongful act or ommission occurring in either party's performance of this agreement. If the foregoing arrangement is satisfactory please indicate your approval thereof by signing and returning the enclosed copy. of this letter. It is anticipated that spreading of Buena Vista water will commence hereunder on or about November 6, 1978 and that approximately 5,000 acre feet will be spread. It is understood that spreading by Buena Vista is at all times subject tO City's prior right of use. Very truly yours, BUENA VISTA WATER STORAGE DISTRICT Harold K.' Russell'; Engineer/Manager Gene-~f McMurtrey, Attorney Approved and Accepted on Behalf of the City of Bakersfield By: