HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/18/79 ,; AGENDA ~
WATER BOARD - CITY OF BAKERSFIELD
WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 1979
4:00 P.M.
Call meeting to order~ .~ ~ · / .~ .~ I'~
Roll 'Call - Board Members: Barton, Chairman; Payne,'Rat~y, Bergen, , ~
Hoagland
1. Approve minutes of regular board meeting of June 13, 1979.
2. Scheduled Public Statements.
3. City Water Board response to Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage
District letter of June 20, 1979 regarding comments about City's
"Statement of Policy Regarding Water Resources Management in
Kern County..." dated March 7, 1979. - BOARD TO CONSIDER LETTER
OF RESPONSE. IF BOARD APPROVES, AUTHORIZE CHAIRMAN TO SIGN.
4. Draft of Concepts regarding spreading and recovery operations
within City's 2800 acre basin. - FOR BOARD CONSIDERATION.
5. City Water Board to receive and review remarks made by Mr. Andy
Milinich to the City Council on June 27, 1979 regarding the dust'
and traffic' probl'em occuring behind Park Stockdale just north
of the Carrier Canal. - FOR BOARD PdEVIEW AND CONSIDEP~ATION.
6. Plans and Specifications for a new building to shelter the
existing booster pump station at Pumping Plant No. 1 on Ashe
Road. California Water Service Company has advised that a
building is needed to provide shelter for the booster pumps
electrical equipment and other appurtenances. Estim-~ted cost
of this structure is $15,000 and funds are available in the
Maintenance Budget. Staff supports this recommendation. -
AUTHORIZATION TO ADVERTIZE FOR BIDS.
7. Staff Comments
8. Board Comments
9. Adj ournmen t
MINUTES
WATER BOARD - CITY OF BAKERSFIELD
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 1979
4:00 P.M. ' ....
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Barton in the City
Hall Caucus Room.
The secretary called the roll as follows:
Present: Barton, Ratty, Bergen, Hoagland
Absent: Payne
Others Present: Chafin, Hansen, Hostmyer
Item number three (3) was withdrawn from the agenda.
A Draft of Proposal to allow North Kern Water Storage District
to exchange "bucket for bucket" its Calloway Kern River water
for an equal amount of Kern County Water Agency I.D. #4 Cross
Valley Canal water was presented to the board for consideration.
Water Manager Chafin explained that the purpose of this exchange
is to provide a better quality Kern River supply to the I.D. #4'
treatment plant. Mr. Bergen made a motion that the Letter Agree-
ment be approved with the amendment recommended by Mr. Hoagland
added on page two (2), the motion was passed. Amended as follows:
It is understood that this does not in anyway
affect the Agreement No. 76-89 between the City
of Bakersfield and North Kern Water S~orage District.
An application to the State of California Department of Health
for an application to operate the City's Domestic Water Enter-
prise was presented to the board by John Han'sen Domestic Water
Superintendent. Mr. Bergen made a motion that the application
be approved and submitted to the City Council. The motion was
passed.
A memorandumn from John Hansen to the Water Board requesting per-
mission to write-off bad debts and submit them for collection
was brought before the board. Mr. Hoagland made a motion that
the list be turned over for collection to H.P. Sears Company, Inc.
The motion was passed.
Staff Comments
John Hansen gave an update on his meetings with the Fairhaven
Industrial Fire Protection District.
Mr. Ratty questioned the status of the Main Line Extension Agree-
ments between the City and Tenneco Realty Development and was
brought up to date on the agreements by John Hansen.
Board Comments
Mr. Bergen informed the board that Bill Parks of Mohawk Petroleum
had talked with him regarding his interest in a backup supply of
water in the Fairhaven area.
There being no further business to come before the board, Chair
man .Barton adjourned the meeting at 4:30 P.M.
James J. Barton, Chairman
City of Bakersfield Water Board
Linda Hostmyer, Secretary
City of Bakersfield Water Board
CALIFORNIA
DEPARTMENT OF WATER ~ '- --:": '
"July'18, 197'9 :'~ '" ' · · ' ....
Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District
P. O. Box 867
Bakersfield, CA 93382
Attention: Paul I. Enns, President
Gentlemen:
In response' to your letter of June 20, 1979 addressed to the
City of Bakersfield Water Board, we are pleased to know that
we all share the concern of an adequate water supply to Kern
County and its affect on the economy of the community.
The City is working on a long-term plan for the beneficial use
of its 2800 acre spreading for the community. As soon as the
plan is resolved and we have something concrete to offer to
the community we will be contacting you for discussions. Mean,
while, you will be hearing from us in the very near future re-
garding our basic concepts for use of City spreading facilities
as they pertain to the Kern River Fan Area.
Sincerely,
James J.. Barton,Chairman.
City of Bakersfield Water Board
JJB:lh
CITY OF BAKERSFIELD WATER BOARD
STATEMENT OF POLICY REGARDING WATER RESOURCES
MANAGEMENT IN THE KERN COUNTY PORTION OF
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
~March 7, 1979
Introduction
Recent events point to possible impending shortages in
imported water supplies to meet even the present requirements of
the Kern County Portion of the San Joaquin Valley. These events
include: (1) the. inability of the State Water Project to meet
its ~ontractual com~itm~hts .... by the' early 1980's, let alone its
co _m~_i~tment~s~, to meet the full contractual commJ_tments '~ of 4,Z30,000
acre-feet per year; (2) the inability of the federal Central
Valley Project to meet planned future. ¢omm. itments~ (3) legislation
tha~ will require water resources management, especially ground
water basin mana§ement; and (4) a general resistance at both the
.~state~and federal level of government and by the so~called environ-
mentalists to new water resources developments.
With the publication of the Final Report of the Governor's
Commission to Review California Water Rights Law and the announce-
ment by Governor Erown on his acceptance of the report that he
wants~a "balanced budget for water," it is more imperativ'e than
ever that the Kern County water community ~ work together to develop
a mean~in~ful pro,ram of managin~ its water resources and especially
ground water.
~ Governor Brown said, on receiving the report: "I woUld
like people to get the feeling that a water time bomb is ticking
away...this generation is consuming the' present and stealing from
the future." Obviously, he is alluding to "deficit spending" of
our ground{~ater reserves, just' as he is criticizing the continued
defidit~ spending of the fe~deral~ 'fiscal program. ~As to ~ecommenda-
tions for additional water development, he says "all water things
go hand-in-hand'' and further water supply development will not be
approved in the State Assembly without a groundwater ~ management
program.
The Kern County water community must' realize that
on notice to institute meaningful management measures. Otherwise,
drastic measures such as curtailment of groundwater use may be
imposed.
A recent report by the Metropolitan Water District of
Southern California1-/ very clearly points up the realities of serious
shortages in water supplies from the State ?~ater Project unless
urgently needed facilities are constructed immediately to firm up
the supplies which the State committed'~ itself to furnish under its
31 existing water delivery contracts. The State Water Project
Would not have sufficient water to deliver the full annual entitle-
ments of its contractors in 1980 if "critical year", conditions of
water supply prevailed during 197~ and 1980. Fortunately, all
1/ Planning Concepts Used in Determining the Water Supply Available
-- from the State Water Project, Report Number 93S, January 1979.
State contractors-are not scheduling deliveries of all of ~heir
contractual entitlements at this time. But based om the "requested"
deliveries' of their entitlement water only postpones the crisis
of shortages in critical years by. about five years, to the mid-
1980's. ~ " ~ ~ ~ ~. ,
' 'os ' .....
.'.'.' i ProP e egislation has. a!r~adM been introduced" in the
form of.S'B.47, the Nejedly bil'l~ whiCh propose~" to carry out' the
groundwater, legislation recommended by the Governor's Commission.
Furthermore, Assemblyman Leo McCarthy has indicated that' any legis-
lation which proposes construction of the Pe[ipheral Canal or any
other facilities to enhance the yield of the State Water Project,
will need to include meaningful ground~)ater; basin management
provisions or it will be doomed to failure.
Recently the Bureau of Reclamation announce~ that the
Central Valley Project is faced withsubstantial water shortages to
meet planned future commi_tm~-~ts.~
All of this points up the need of maximizing the effi-
cient management of all available surface and gr.otm-dWafi~r,:-, resources
while at the same time making an all-out effort to develop additional
water from, both-the State Water Project and the Central Valley Pro-
ject.
Gr~und-~ate~ ~ Overdraft
The importation of State. ProjeCt water to Kern County
was justified primarily as a means of overcoming the,'seve='~over-
draft on the, Kern County portion of the San Joaquin
basin. The Department of' Water Resources' in its Bullet'in No.. llg-g,
'~ea~ibil'ity of Serving the Kern County Water Agency.from~the
State Water Project," September 1963, stated that .there were
S92,000 acres irrigated in 1958 in the area overlying the ground-
water, basin. The Department also estimated that the overdraft in
· the Kern County portion of the basin would average 700,000 acre~-
., :feet per year over 'the 1960~70 'decade and that the safe annual
yield of surface and ~roundwater-~ in the 'area was on the order of
S00,000 acre-feet. [State Project water was first delivered to
~ern County in 1968, but not in substantial quantities until 1970).
The Agency's total firm annual entitlement'to State Pro-
ject water is 1,153,400 acre-feet, plus 100,000 acre~feet of un-
regulated surplus water. Under the Agency's policy there are three
priorities to State Project Water. Municipal and industrial water
is given first priority, agricultural service to preserve-the then
existing agricultural economy is given second priority, and the
remaining water is allocated under a third priority to new lands
propOsed to be developed for agriculture. It should be pointed
out, however, that this policy has apparently not been carried out
up to the present time.
The second priority water was to be allocated to maintain
the existing agricultural economy by providing sufficient water
to meet the 1964 water demands and eliminate the overdraft on the
basin. It was then estimated that 526,100 acre-feet per year
would maintain the then existing economy and alleviate the over-
draft for lands overlying theqround~at~,?basin. With-llg,000
I_/ Year 1968 = 55,727 acre-feet.
Year 1969 '= 89,171 acre-feet.
acre-~feet per year allocated to municipal and industrial purposes,
this left 608,300 acre-'feet [including the 100,-000' acre-feet of
unregulated surplus) for the third priority for use on new lands
or lands not under irrigation in 1964. The stabilization' of the
under'grOund basin, 'second priority, has not' been accomplished.
.~ The tota~ allocation to lands over'lying the~.r0undwate=~
basin, under full use of State Project water, was '797,900 acre-
feet per year, of which about two-thirds was considered to main-
tain the existing economy and ~bout one-third was for new lands.
The September 1969 Zone of Benefit report by Leeds, Hill and
Jewett, Inc., stated on page 18: "Of course., any additional use
of' water for development of new lands other than from the imported
supply would increase the overdraft."
The preliminary draft rePort of' the Kern County ~,~ater
Agency entitled "Groundwater Recharge in Kern County, Part I,
'" dated November 197S, states that the overdraft
Physical Aspect,.
prior to importation of State Project water was 800,000 acre-feet
per year. It also states that there were 680,000 acres of irrigated
land overlying the.groundwater~C~ basin prior to the importation of
State Project water and that in 1975 such irrigated area had in-
creased to 870,000 acres, an increase of 190,000 a_cres. It further
states that it is now (1975, presumably) estimated that the over-
draft will be S00,000 acre-feet per year with delivery of the maxi-
mum State Project water entitlement,
The November 1975 preliminary draft report of the. Agency
also stated that 'the rate of increase 'in overdraft is expected
to be 2.S acre-feet for each additional acre of irrigated land
ove[!yin~ the ground-water basin. Therefore, the 190.~000 acres
of added irrigated land, up to 197S, would increase annual water
requirements by 47S,000 acre-feet.
It appears obvious that the overdraft on the q~'undw~~
basin will not be over'come by the importation of Stat~ Project
water. The'Agency has been relying on'the 'availabilitylof a con~
siderable quantity of surplus water which could be used to he'lp
alleviate the overdraft. But the availability of a significant
quantity of State Project surplus water is now in doubt due, among
other things, to the following: (1} deautherization of the Eel
River ProjeCt facilities which would have provided about 900,000
acre-feet per year to the State Water Project yield; {2) the Delta
Decision, which may requzre the release of stored water which
would have been part of project yield, to maintain water quality
in the Delta; and [3) a serious challenge 'to the' construction of
the Peripheral Canal, now several years behind schedule and with
a very uncertain future. As a result, the ~ield of the State
Water Project may not be sufficient to supply entitlement water
beyond the mid-1980's qdantity of entitlement of all of its con-
tractors.
In a statement presented at the second regular meeting
of the Governor's Commission to Review California Water Rights
Law on August 12, 1977, the Kern County Water Agency pointed out
that the groundwater-~ extractions from the San Joaquin Valley
groundwate~ basin within Kern County exceeded normal recharge by
about 7S0,000 acre-feet per year and that a permanent overdraft
condition exists- [This did not include the drought, years 1976
and 1977.}
~ . 'Resolution No. 27-76, Groundwater Overdraft Correction
Policy of the Kern County Water Agency, was adopted, on September
23, 1976. That resolution acknowledges that a serious overdraft
exists, and sets a goal of reducing or eliminating the overdraft
before 1990.. It also acknowledges that ~ew land has.been and is
being deveioped over the-basin .for Wh'ich there is no~permanent-.'
imported wa:ter supply.
It says that the intention of the Agency is to correct
the overdraft by .importation. of additional water. But where will
the Agency get this water?. It must be in addition to the entitle-
ment under its existing State contract. It is now questionable
that the Agency will even receive the entitlement skheduled under
its existing State contract. The State Water Project now has a
substantial, short-fall in supplies to meet its existing gommitments,'~;~
as previously pointed out.
In summary, it can be stated that somehow at least one-
half million acre-feet per year of "new" water must be made avail-
able to the Kern County portion of the San Joaquin Basin and'irri-
gation use of water must be .restricted to about the present level
or an already severe overdraft condition Will become much worse.
The 1969 report of Leeds~ Hill & Jewett stated that with
no further growth in non-CVP agriculture (presumably beyond the
1969 level of irrigated agriculture) the State Water Project
supplies would in effect correct the' groundwat~-~ overdraft. Then,
in 1975, the Kern County Water Agency's own study indicated that,
presumably based on the 1975 level of' irrigated.agriculture, the
overdraft would be S00,000 acre-feet with the importation of State
Proj'ect water. Manifestly~ the continued overdraft is a result of
increased extractions of ~roundwater.:~_~
Groundwa Ce ~z~ - B~asi~n ~an'agement
The question then becomes, how to manage a severely over-
· drawn 'groundwat~ basin? Annual ground~water extractions h~ve.. ~0
been regarded as the measure of ~one's' water ~ight in an overdraWn
basin. But the recent State Supreme Court decree in the Los
Angeles cas'el/ also says that overlying pumpers cannot.:'prescrlpt
against municipalities or .water dedicated to public use by public
utilities. That decree..~ also pro~ides'that public districts which
import water to a basin from a non4tributary source, such as
State Water and CVP water~, have the right to .recover the return
flow (that is,. the deep percolation of such water to the ground-
water basin) from such imported water.
Th~=refore it would appear that the appropriative rights
to groundwa~.:~-~-by municipalities and public utilities would be
trea~ed'separately from the water pumped from the basin by othefs,
such as farmers. To the extent that a farmer's _c[roundwatem~-£ pump-
ing is combined with an. imported, supply source, the return flow
from the im)orted supply could be counted first against his ground-
water pumpi~tg '(although, technically, the right of recovery lies
with the im';)orting public entity). His pumping in excess of the
return flow would then form the basis of his prorata share of the
safe yield f the basin after the safe yield is reduced by the
1_/ Los 'A'n'g~l'es v. San Fernando, If4 Cal. 3d 199 [1975).
amount necessary to supply the app'ropriative rights of the munici-
palities and public utilities.
Any comprehensive 'management plan of the Kern County por-
tion'of the San Joaquin'gr~d~a-~g~~ basin must recognize the
guidelines established by the Supreme 'Court in.~the Los Angeles
Furthermore, a policy must be established whereby those
who develop new' agricultural lands must have an assured imported
water supply or an established right to the use of local water
supplies. Otherwise, the over'draft on the native Kern County
water supplies will be increased even more. If such a policy
cannot be effectively developed among the 'various public and pri-
vate interests which either (1) own the right's to the native supply
of the basin, or (2) have contractual right's to local and imported
water, litigation is inevitable. Litigation will not generate
any additional water supplies. It will simply determine how the
various water users pay their fair share of the cost of water re-
quired to offset the overdraft. All of this, of course, assumes
that supplemental imported water will be available. If it is not,
a serious threat to the agricultural ecOnomy of the Kern County
portion of the San Joaquin Basin is i.mminenfi.
To a.degree, the equating of the costs of imported water
is now being attempted through zone of benefit.~sessments, levied
by the Kern County Water Agency. However, zone'of benefit assess-
ments are levied against property owners and not specifically and
equitably .against those who are causing the 'overdraft. It may be
~ecepsar~ to impose a pump tax against those who are relatively
new pumpers, or who are 'increasing their pumping ~ver a certain
level of development, or on' all g~undWa~e~.-"extractions.
.. Obviously, newly developed lands requiring large water
supplies cannot draw them from the overdrafted basin-unless a like
amount of Basin depletion is..supplied from:imported or other ...
sources to OffSet such depletion' of basin supplies.
Kern River Fan Area
At the present time the use of water from the Kern River
Fan Area exceeds the available supplies. This is not unique to
the Kern River Fan Area--s~me imbalance prevails throughout much
of the Kern County portion of the San Joaquin Valley. Even with
full importation of entitlement from the State Water Project and
the Central Valley Project, there will still, be a substantial
overdraft in Kern County. The ultimate answer is the acquisition
of additional supplies and the maximum utilization in the most
e~ficient manner of the available supplies.
It is absolutely essential that a local management plan
be developed for the Kern River Fan Area. Otherwise.it is very
possible that a management plan will be imposed upon the area by
others--and that "plan" could be a restriction in groundwater use.
At the present time the Department of Water Resources [DNR) is
looking closely at the. area as a possible unit to be added to the
State l~ater Project, Preliminarily, DWR has indicated that it
could firm up the yield of the State ~Vater Project by an average
of 72,000 acre-feet per year through a conjunctive use operation
'lO-
'utilizing 500,000 acre-feet of the storage capcity underlying the
Kern River Fan Area. D~fR states that there is cumrentlY. 3,000,000
acre~feet of dewatered storage in the' Fan Area. The next pro-
nouncement from DWR may be that if 72,000 acre-feet per year of
yield can be achieved from 500,000'acre-feet of storage, why not
" ' i ' -'
.432, 00 acre-feet Pet"year from 3 millio~ acre-'feet of. storage?
The Problem and Its Possible' Solution
The statment of the problem is simple: More water is
being used from the Fan Area than is being supplied to the Fan
Area. It is the solution that is going to be difficult. But the
first step of the solution is to formulate a management plan to
maximize the use of the' water supplies that are now, and can be
made, available to the area. The management plan must be equitable
and the operational unit must be manageable.
Unfortunately, the Kern River Fan Area is,not one with
well-defined boundaries, especially subsurface boundaries. It is
not a container with one inlet and one outlet at which measure-
ments can be made. Rather, .it is a portion of a complex subsurface
basin. ~roundwa%er~.~'moves away from the Fan Area in northwesterly
and southwesterly directions. Variations in pumping patterns within
and outside of the Fan Area can change the direction~and quantities
of groundwater movement. One of the complex matters in a manage-
ment plan will be the determination and accounting of the movement
of groundwater in the peripheral areas, or outer boundaries, of.
the Fan Area.
· The Fan Area is overlain .by a variety of water districts,
the City of Bakersfield and areas which are not within any water
District. The City has certain Kern River surface water and ground-'
water rights; most of the districts have certain surface water
rights {including contractual rights); and the overlying landowners
/,have certa,ifiigroundwater rights. The. City and districts hav~ or ~.;
'can 'acquire' gri°undWater s'torage rights. This is not to say the over-':~'
lying landowners do not have storage rights. Rather, it is to
point out that recent court decisions (Nilesl--/ and Los Angeles-2/)
have clarified certain points as to the rights of public entities
to sro're in and recover from groundwater basins water which they
spread into those basins.
Principles Important to the City of Bakersfield
A management agreement should be formulated among the
public entities overlying the Kern River Fan Area (the specific
boundaries of which would be defined) to manage the surface and
groundwater resources of the area, including imported water. Any
lands not within a water district may be required to annex to
the appropriate district or contract in some way with the Fan Group
so that they cannot interfere with a management plan.
The City's Kern River water supplies are now o~mmitted._
by long-term contracts to the extent of about the first 90,000
acre-feet annually. Annual supplies in excess of that quantity
Niles.Sand and Gravel Co. v. Alameda County Water District,
37 Cal. App. 3d 924, 112 Cal. Rptr. 846 (1974), cert. denied,.
419 U.S. 869, [1975).
City of Los Angeles' V. City of San Fernando, 14 Cal. 3d 199,
537 P.2d 1250, 123 Cal. Rptr. 1 {1975).
are also~ .commit'ted to a large extent in that the City's four long-
term agri'cultural water contractors have 'the righ.t of first re-
fusal to purchase such excess water. In addition, Tenneco has
entered into.a contract with the City for the right of first re-
fusal to p~urchase such 'water when the four long-term contractors
do n~t exercise: their.'righ~S 'to.purchase'.it:... Als~'' Tenneco ~as '.'
~the right of first'refusal'; io. acquire:any of' the: four contracts 'if '
they default. (Tenneco has recently contracted, with the City's
approval, to purchase a substantial portion of the basic supply
under the Kern-Tulare Water District contract over the next five
5rea~s; )
City water available for spreading in the Kern River Fan
Area will be the portion of its annual supply which it does not
sell for direct use to others and will generally occur during above-
normal years of streamflow. One reservation must be made on all
City water: It will not be made available for sale if it is needed
for use inside the City or on City-owned property.
Sharing the Hegemony
In considering the various means of administering a
management program, it is recommended that a Management Conu~itt~
comprised of one member from each participating agency be formed.
Since the City's Water Department now maintains the river records
for the Kern River Watermaster and since'the City's land forms the
core-of_the water spreading operations, the Water Department should
maintain all records for the Management Program and render an
annual accounting to all members of the Fan Group.
The City would bill the Kern River Fan Group for this
service and the Fan Group would establish an Administrative Fund
from which to pay thfs and any other Fan Group administrative costs
which· may be incurred with approval of the Management Committee.
An administrative Assessme~t'would be levied based on'an annual. ~ -.~-'
acreage charge, .a wa~er extraction charg~., l or.,a., combinationl of' .
these and/or other means of assessment to m~intain the Adminstra-
tire Fund.
There should be recognition in the Agreement of the
principles' of water spreading, extractions, sales, purchases and
exchanges in order to provide an outline of what may be called
guidelines for such activities. There should be no question that
members of the Fan Group have certain rights among themselves to
conduct those activities without interference so long as they do
so under the guidelines, or possibly specific rules and regulations,
agreed to by the Fan Group.
During 1978 the City of Bakersfield caused a large quantity
of its Kern-River water supplies to percolate to the underlying
urourfdwatem~3 basin along the Kern River and on its 2,80C-acre water
spreading facility. Also, through contractual arrangements, it
allowed spreading of other water on its facilities by the Olcese
Water District, the Buena Vista Water Storage District and the
Kern County Water Agency.
This manag~men~ program could be expanded to include other
entities under similar arrangements and bring a large portion of
the Kern County,groundwatenz basin under this management umbrella
with a sharing of the hegemony.
ROSEDA E RIO BRAVO
i WATER STORAGE DISTRICT
2623"F" St., Suite L P.O. Box 867 · Bakersfield, California 93302 · 325~t797
June 20, 1979
City of Bakersfield Water Board
4101 Truxtun Avenue
Bakersfield, California 93301
Gent'lemen:
Our Board has reviewed your "Statement of Policy Regarding Water Resources
Management in the'Kern County Portion of San Joaquin Valley" dated March 7,
1979. Of course the subject of water resources management is, at best,
very complex; and thus our Board has some differing views from those
expressed in your statement.~ However, we are in accord that .action at
the local level must be instituted now if we as a County are to come to
grips with the overall problem. We believe it clear that the long term
future of the economy of Bakersfield and Kern County rests on agriculture;
and of course the future of agriculture rests on an adequate supply of
water.
Your statement s~uggests that agreements on the use of the City's 2800
acre spreading area by various entities may well serve as a starting point
in dealing with the program. We suggest that a meeting be called in the
near future for the purpose of exploring this possibility further. The
participants in such a meeting should represent entities overlying the
Kern Fan area. We would suggest that the following be included: The City,
Rosedale, Buena Vista, Henry Miller, Kern County Water Agency, James Pioneer,
Kern Delta and West Kern. Assuming that the entities can agree, we suggest
that a committee be appointed after the initial meeting to formulate a plan
to bring to the group as a whole.
The "first step" is always difficult, hopefully it can be taken shortly.
Very truly yours,
ROSEDALE-RIO BRAVO WATER STORAGE DISTRICT
President
!,
cc: Barton cc: S. Hatch
Payne T. Stetson ~..'
Ratty, ~ ~ (?~,~- '~ '"
Bergen ~ ~' "
Hoagland
REMARKS MADE BY MIi. ANDY MILINICI1, 5916 COCIIIiAN
DI~IVE AT TIlE COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 27, 1979
I'm here on bcll;tll' of my.~iell', resi. dents of Cochran Drive
and Park Stockdale. The problem tba~ exists is the Carrier Can;ti
and out property is adjacent to the canal. Recently a story ran
in the Bakersfield Californian, on Sunday, June 24, 1979, of what
the problem is. Berore going any further I wish to thank the City
Council for recognizing me this evening. "
I have spoken to Mr. Bergen and Mr. Chafin, Superintendent
of Water, regarding this problem. They have both ~een very '..
cooperative, however', the problem still exists. In fact, gentlemen,
it is getting worse.
it is llot o~lly the noise knd what is going on out
it's tile dust problem. There ;tre dirt bik(2s, wate~- skiing, different
types of motorcycles, four-wheel drive trucks, cars usually with
(drink?) out there. The dust .has become so bad that it is
going into th,~ homes, on ~h¢ homes, the trees are just ['all of
people in their residences have to water them down---P()ols have been
getting dirt in thom. I .was told to call the Police. Department when
something like th'i~ hal)pc~n(~d. We have cai'led and tile neighb(,~'~ have
c ;t 'l .[ ,.~d the Polict~ l)(?l);trtmc~nt. Either they don't ror';l)ond or we never
see the units. I don't under'stand. It seems to be worsening I
think at the present time, it seems to be younger people, ~tlong with
some adults, are challenging tho Police Department. I have heard
co~nents Irom one c)r the youth's parents saying "well they out
run the Police because they are on dirt bikes and they won't get
US." It is just alarming ~o watch what is going on because not
only is there the dirt, dust and noise, but the fact that the ac-
ti'on that is going on out there. For inst,tnc, e' '*, lewd and indecent
exposure.. Recently some youths were water skiing and I politely
got up on the fence and ~tskecl them if they would move because they
were c~'e:tting quit~) a bit or dust. I have a young Grand~on who
is all astllmatic and ho has had a t¢~rl'ibl~ y(?ar this year. 'l'ht~y --
W~-~I'O drlllking b~el' ;tlld tll'(:y h;tt[ some~ choice words l'or m~:: a~d moved
on, howev(~r, they cam(~ back. 'l'h(~y wt~r(~ i.n tt pickulv and they stood
.d'p inS'the pickup, and in the pre~ence of my Grandchildren, exposed
their derrieres.
My main poi:pose here this evening, in all honesty,
to ~ry ~o pu~ some q~[~estions and hopefully get some answers. At
one time i.~ seemed like they were only going down one side of ~he
canal, which was the~ north s~de. Prosently they aro going down both
sides, which is the side righ[ adjacent to our proporty up against ..
. realige, I thSnk, they are causing this problem
~he fence The~
because they will sit there and rev their bikes up until they get ....
them up ~o tho proPe:~r speod and tako off and na[urally they f~h-
tail out of ~here an~d the dust just flies. It is doing damage to
[ho homes and I have~, spoken to poople up and down the street and they
aro very concerned a~bou[, it . They just don't take t~me to come and
voice open,on, appa~['ently, liko I do. I appreciate Mr. Borgen's
eonanents and help ahd also Mr. Chafin's. But I would l~ke to know,
maybe not right at 1,:he present, this evolling, but somehow or some- ..
time that you gen'tl~men could give me an answer as to what is going
'to happen. ~hat ea~ be done. About a year an~ a half ago, in fact
las[ year, [wo youtl3s turned 1~ pickup over out there, right bohind
our home in the dark. We thought they were dead because there was
no movement. Thoy :lBsolutely turned it over, it came down on its
lop. ~e were helpless. Wo couldn't get across the canal, so we had -'
to atand thero and watch, llowever, they wero saved because or a
roll bar on the l~t[lo Da[sun. ~ yoar and a half ago a ~oung boy
wa~ shot out there in the leg. So they are usin~ flrea~m~, they
are hunt~ng, they a~.re racing their vohtcles and.as I' meationod tho
si[ua[~on ~ust seems to Be worsening day al[er day. ~ot so much
~!~rough the week a~ ~t is on the weekends. Lo and behold comes
Sa~urda~ and Sunda' its a freeway an~ racetrack. They don't seem
to BO afra~0 of an~ co~mnon'ts or say~ng we are go~ng to call the
Police or would you please move on down or whatever. They ignore
us totally It is to the people who have to live un that side
the street, howeve~l[.· we l~ve in the Oounty you poople ought to
it is your propert,.'/ alld somewhat yottr responsibility, llere again ..:
my pu.,rpose in beillg here tonight, and I can go back and tell my
~rlends and neighbors, that we will have some kind of answer as
to what. can be done with this problom.
COUNCILMAN CIIIIlSTENSEN: }.Ir. [tilinich, I would like to ---
move at this time that ou~- Secretary make a recording, in writillg,
in other words typo the ~;t[)c~ , and tkll'n Llle tape over to the Police
Department. I would like to see the Police Department make an i~.-
vestigation oi' this si tuatioll and report to the staff and the
· Council for appropriate action. I'd like to make a motion that
they do that. ..:
COUNCILMAN BAIITON' Mr. Christensen, since the Carrier ....
Ca~al 'ls also in the City and l)art of the water enterprise, would
you incorporate in your motion to refer this to the Water Board.
~lel'e may be some action that the Water Board can take in regards
lo soil binders and l'encing. I don't know, but I think that can "
COUNCILNAN CIIRIS'I'ENSEN: That sounds vo~'y logical. I"
think it would be good ii' it included both the Police and the
t~ater Board, then report back to ll~'. Milini. ch and staff.
MR. MILINICll- There is olio itol~ I neglected to mention.
They were even water skiing. 'l'ht-)y lJut a pickup on the bank or a
four-wheel drive, put a long tow rope on it and witter ski. Yo~
imagine the dust when they really start putting the speed on. I
don't think the noise would be so much of a problem as the dirt
and dust is. It is just terrible. It's hard to explain unless
you are out there, you can't go in the back yard and enjoy an
evening because when the wind blows mainly I'rom the south .....
l~orthwest ..... you can be sitting there and feel it hitting you
in the face because it comes boiling in like fog. ~e are paying -
taxes and trying to enjoy our homo and we Call~t got oat there to
and ~¥e have to stop. i ' ye tried [ [ , yeti can ' t (lo it. I t is
terrible trying to l. ivo uade~' those conditions. Again, before
. leave~ I certainly appreciate you~ gentlemen hearing my problem
a~id ~¥hatever you c~tn do I know, myself, and we on that side of the
street and Cochran Drive, ~'i]1 appreciate it.
COUNCILMAN I~AII'I'ON' Councilman Christensen ha.~ made a
motion to the Council to have ig reviewed not only by the Police
Department staff, but also the Council Water Board, with ;x ~'eport
back to the Council .~-~o th:~t information should come back on ....
hopefully' there will be ~ome solutions in there that will alleviate
the problem. :
The mo~ion was unanimously approved. --~
:~'"~''"" "~""' '." '" "]]".:'-'.';" WATER BOARD - CITY OF BAKERSFIELD
-_,.',.',..', ,~ :L-[,~' ye~, '-, " ,"' :. . * . ,' ....
' ,.'L~:'. ;",'..::.~"_';~;';.~."-'-';_ -." '.';. .... "' .... '' . ITEMS FOR A6ENDA ' "' "'' ' '"' '
Agsnda Section-'- '"'flEW BUSINESS '.
: .. Requesting-Department DOMESTIC WATER .' ''. .
~:'." '~i.'-". '.,'~;':'"' ' ' ' " " .. ..
"-';:':,; :.. Da, teFfor..Water 'Boa;rd Act[on. "Ju'LY."18 .19'79 -: '...'.,.. :..-; ,.'..:;,':'.,~'.;' .
')}. }:"':," 1. 'DescriPtion of Item: Plans and Specification' for a new t~u~lding'to
.' . :. shelter the existing booster pump station at
',' Pumping Plant No. 1 on Ashe Road. :'
?
-' 2. Comments: Cali'fornia Water. Servi'ce Co. has advised that a building
,- is needed to provide shelter for the booster pumps electrical
:' equipment and other appurtenances. Estimated cost of this
structure is $15,000 and funds are avai'lable in the Maintenance
Budget. Staff- supports this recommendation.
Suggested Action:' Authorization to advertize for bids.
4. Attachments:
· :-'"'~ I~i'K~ctor o Fire & Oevelop'ment Services
. .. Approvecl'¢/C i ty ttanager
NOTE: Items. For ~/ater Board A§enda are to be submitted prior to 10 a.m. Friday
for the Wednesday meeting of the following week
.... L ...,: ?'-, - '-
........... .J. J2.L._y....l__.8_,...._l__9__.7.?. ..................
TO .............. ~.A__T.E_..R.._.B_..O_A_. _R..D_ ................................................................................................................................
[:ROM ....... _.D_.~.~q._[.S._._._~_.._E_.D_..I~.._~.,. DIRECTOR OF FIRE & DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
SU BJ E~T~Q~E~`AT~-S~%.~D7~E~X~..~D~-~TX~C~.~3~T~g~7~M~. ..............................................
Attached is a preliminary study of the City's cost
of operating the City's Domestic Water System as compared to
California Water Service Company costs. The City staff is
currently discussing this matter with California Water Service
Company.
This packet is for your information and staff re-
quests your comments and direction.
JHH:ag
It appears that the City operation of the domestic water
system is justified. After reviewing Stetson Engineers' report
dated May 18, 1979, I made changes to reflect my thoughts on opera-
tion costs. The analysis compares City costs of operation versus
California Water Service Company continued operations. The City
could save up to 10% by operating the system; this is based upon
1977 and 1978 costs expanded for an estimated 1979 cost.
Table 1 shows the comparison of the City operating the
system versus California Water Services' Costs.
Table 2 presents the intrinsic costs, which are the same
whether the City operates the system, or California Water Service
Company operates the system.
Table 3 presents the personnel required for the City to
adequately operate the system. Operational staff would require seven
new employees, to be hired over the next si~ months, so that as the
contract with California Water Service Company e~pires in December
of this year, we can take over operation smoothly.
The City can operate the system with a seven member staff
as is shown in Table 3. However, a staff of thi. s size will not be
specialized enough to handle some items, some services would have
to be contracted out to an organization with eypertize in the special-
ized areas, such as: .~
A. Customer service billing will probably be con-
tracted out to another utility having such billing
capability, such as California Water Service Com-
pany, or contractor. The implementation of a
billing program by the City utilizing the data
processing system for an in house billing process
is also an alternative.
B. All meter testing and repair should be performed
by an independent contractor who specializes in
that. service.
C. Mandatory system water sampling analysis will
have to be contracted out to an independent
laboratory certified by the State of California.
D. Major distribution system maintenance and emer-
gency repairs should be contracted out to a local
independent pipeline contractor. This could be
accomplished in several ways, two of which are
by (1) Unit Bid contract, and/or (2) on a time
and materials basis by previous agreement.
E. All major pump and well maintenance should be
contracted out to local independent contractors.
Emergency pump and well work should be carried
out on a time and material basis by previous
agreement with a local pump repair firm.
F. Engineering and system design should be con-
tracted out until such time as the City could
justify hiring a full time experienced water
system design engineer along with the required
drafting personnel.
Table 4 presents estimated miscellaneous expenses for main-
tenance, office supplies and customer billings.
Table 5 shows the estimated capital outlay cost and the
annual depreciation for these capital items which the City would need
to acquire.
~In conclusion, the City's Domestic Water Enterprise is now
in a position where it is economically desireable to operate the
system in a house. The system is also small enough to develop an
effective, efficient staff, which will provide the nucleus for future
expanded operations. As the system expands, the operational cost per
customer will become more efficient. I therefore recommend that the
City assume control of the domestic water operations.
TABLE 1
COMPARISON OF ANNUAL COSTS OF OPERATION
BAKERSFIELD MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEM
.'~' California Water
Item .City Operation Service Management
Intrinsic Costs (Table 2) $401,800 $401,800
City Labor (Table 3) 182,400 45,700
City Miscellaneous Costs (Table 4) 82,800 25,300
(with Management Fee)
C.W.S. O&M Cost --- 224,500
Subtotal 667,000 697,300
Depreciation on O&M Equipment (Table 5) 22,300 ---
Total Cost 689,300 697,300
Extra O&M Costs (1978)(1) 105,600 117,200
Total Operating Cost 794,900 814,500
qity Inspection Reimbursement(2) (-54 700)
~(Fee on Subdivisions) '
TOTAL COST 740,200
?
(1) Difference in costs are due to California Water Service charging
an 8 percent overhead to most extra-ordinary maintenance work.
(2) California Water Service is currently receiving this reimburse-
ment for performing all the inspection for the City.
TABLE 2
ESTIMATED INTRINSIC COSTS
BAKERSFIELD MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEM
.' Estimated Estimated
RecOrded Cost 1977 Unit 1979 Unit 1979 Cost
.Item $1000 Cost S/cost(l) Cost S/Cost(2) $1000
Power 146 100 ~38.57 40.53 (3) 210,600
City Overheads 14' 610 3.86 4.63 (4) 24 000
Insurance 71680 2.03 2.44 (4) 12 ', 700
Pump Taxes 75,910 N.A. N.A. 102,300
Ad Valorem Taxes 23,570 N.A. N.A. 12,200
Miscellaneous 24~ 330 6.42 7.70 (4) 40~000
$292,200 $401,800
(1) For'1977 the average number of customer was 3788.
(2) For 1979 the average number of customers is estimated to be 5,200.
(3) Increased by 5 p~rcent for estimated power increase.
(4) Increased by 20 percent for inflation.
TABLE 3
ESTIMATED WAGE AND SALARY COSTS
OPERATION BY BAKERSFIELD MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEM
Wages & Salaries -~.City.Operation(1)
Water Manager $ 25,500
Secretary 10,100
Accountant I 13,300
Maintenance Man 11,000
Maintenance Man 11,000
.Meter Reader 11,000
Pump Opera to r-Foreman 16,400
Inspector II 15,700
Pump Operator Overtime 7,600
2 - Ceta Employees
Subtotal $121,600
Estimated Salary Loading Factor 1.5
Total Annual Wages, Salaries &
Benefits $182,400
(1) Salaries taken from resolution 78-70 (City salaries)
when applicable.
PERSONNEL AND OUTSIDE SERVICE REQUIREMENTS
BAKERSFIELD MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEM
Water Manager
Supervise and oversee the employees of the Municipal Water
System opermt{on.
A. Report directly to the Director of Development Services.
B. Directly supervise the daily operation of the system°
C. Prepare and present timely, comprehensive, and concise
reports as necessary regarding the current status and
condition of the water system operation.
1. Present the reports to the Director of Development
Services, the City Manager, and the Water Board
(as appropriate).
2. Prepare and present all required reports as necessary
to the~various City, County, State, and Federal
Governmental agencies.
D. Prepare and expedite annual capital and expense budgets.
E. Supervise, coordinate, and control all new construction
and maintenance projects.
F. Establish and maintain a high level of water service at
the most reasonable cost.
Secretary
Perform all secretarial duties as necessary during the normal
course of business in the Municipal Water System Operation.
A. Receive all incoming telephone calls and initiate appro-
priate action in accordance with the nature of the call.
B. Receive all walk-in traffic. ~
C. Perform all typing and dictation duties inherent in the
operation and management of a Water System.
D. Be responsible for establishing and maintaining routine
records and files.
E. Customer Contract: Receive all customer requests, inquires
and complaints; dispatch all matters to the appropriate
personnel for prompt, efficient action.
F. Assume duties as a two-way radio dispatcher.
A~coonta~t I
Establish and maintain all financial books and records
necessary to operate, maintain and control the Municipal
Water System.
A. Report directly to the Water Superintendent.
B. Maintain complete capital records°
C. Maintain detailed O&M and A&G records.
D. Maintain.~etailed records of the customer accounts.
E. Constantly review all accounts payable and accounts
receivable; approve all bills payable prior to payment.
F. Generate timely, concise, complete, and comprehensive
financial reports required in the normal course of
operation.
G. Generate speciali~zed financial reports as required by
direct request of the Superintendent.
H. Establish, review, and analyze all Main Extension Con-
tracts prior to execution; approve all annual refund
paymen ts.
Maintenance Man (equal to a "Waste Water Treatment Operator I" position)
A. Perform all normal maintenance functions inherent in a
municipal water system including the repair of mainline
leaks, and service leaks.
B.Perform routine scheduled maintenance:
1. Pumping plant painting and landscape maintenance
2.Physically inspect and operate all main line valves
on an annual basis.
3. Flush all mainline,dead-ends, and selected fire
hydrants.
4. Locate and mark all existing water facilities to
facilitiate contractors, public works, and other
entities who are planning to excavate around and
near existing water facilities.
C. Perform basic clerical duties which would ~include the
completion of maintenance forms, time cards, material
lists, job reports, work orders, accident reports, and
leak reports.
D. Perform as a pumping plant operator on a scheduled basis
on nights, week-ends, holidays, or any other time as
deemed necessary by the Water Superintendent.
E. Perform customer service duties in support of the pumping
plant operator at the direction of the Water Superintendent.
Meter Reader (equal to a "Waste Water Treatment Operator I" position)
A. Read all customer meters on a predetermined monthly
schedule and accurately enter each meter read in a meter
book, or on a computer punch card.
~B. ResponsiBle for maintaining~a daily reading schedule
which currently would require the reading of an average
250 meters within a 5-hour period during eac~ working
day.
C. ~ Responsible for comparing the current consumption t'o
the prior month in order to identify malfunctioning meters.
D. File Service Order Reports at the end of each day for
each meter that appears to be stopped (no change in the
meter read) or those that show abnormally low monthly con-
sumption~' Follow-up and investigate all service orders.
Eo Replace all stopped meters with new or rebuilt meters.
F. Remove meters showing abnormally low consumption and
submit for meter testing.
Go Schedule the prompt repair of all malfunctioning meters.
H. Perform routine maintenance on all services which would
include replacing broken meter boxes, broken registers
and register lenses, keep meter boxes free of dirt,~ mud,
water, and trim away excess shrubbery and grass.
I. Perform basic clerical duties including the prompt, complete
and accurate preparation and filing of all meter records,
service records, and Service Order follow-up and investi-
gation data.
Pump Operator - Foreman
A. Responsible for the daily operation of the system.
B. Performs daily routine maintenance including pump lubrication
maintaining plant recording instruments, remove dust and
dirt from equipment, sweep floors, visually inspect all
electrical equipment, and check each site for theft or
vanda~lism.
C. Read the production and .power meters each day.
D. Check each operating plant two times each day.
E. Perform basic clerical duties including recording production
meter readings and power meter readings each day, and to
prepare a daily, weekly, and monthly production report which
is to be promptly submitted to the Water Superintendent.
F. ReSponsible for promptly reporting all equipment malfunctions,
failure to the Water Superintendent.
G. Perform all customer service functions including routine
turn-ons, turn-offs, field investigation of complaints and
filed implementation of other directives concerning customer
related problems. The Customer Service-function is the
responsibility of the Pump Operator during normal working
hours, nights, week-ends, and holidays.
Inspector II
The inspector shall be responsible for inspecting and approv-
ing all new construction, all major maintenance performed
by outside contractors or department personnel, and shall
be accountable for~upholding the City's construction standard
specifications, ordinances, and all other related requirements
and regulations.
A. Report directly to the Water Superintendent.
-3-
= ~B. Shall inJpect the installation of all new failities.
C. Shall be able to make major field changes in construction
plans to facilitate unforseen field conditions.
D. Shall have the authority to issue directives to contractors
and department maintenance personnel, including change
order, and modifications, in the ~work schedule,
E. Shall be required to approve all work performed by
contractors before any payment is made and/or before any
payments are made in accordance with any Main Extension
Contract~'
F. Shall cause "As-built" Construction drawings to be pre-
pared which will show all changes made in the field during
the course of construction, which are direct deviations
from the construction drawings as issued to the contractors
or department maintenance personnel.
G. Shall prepare and maintain a Master Construction Schedule
which will show the daily status of all construction pro-
jects from the time they are approved for construction
until they are permanently placed in service.
H. Shall file a Daily Work Report with the superintendent
which shall be a brief summary of'the previous days
activities as observed by the inspector.
-4-
TABLE 4
ESTIMATED ANNUAL MISCELLANEOUS MAINTENANCE EXPENSE
BAKERSFIELD MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEM
Item -" Annual Cost $
Pumping Equipment 12,000
Pipe & Fittings 17,500
0 Structures 4,000
Office Supplies 9,000
Vehicles 12,3 00
Billing Expense 28,000
TOTAL 82,8 00
TABLE 5
ESTIMATED CAPITAL COST AND DEPRECIATION
BAKERSFIELD MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEM
Estimated Annual
Item Cost Life Depreciation
Vehicles
1 1-1/2 ton service truck $13,000 5 $2,600
6 3/4 ton pick-ups 48,000~ 5 ~9,600
Subtotal $61,000 $12,200
Power Equipment
2 trash pumps 1,500 5 300
1 aircompressor, complete
with tools 9,000 5 1,800
Misc. handtools 5,000 5 1,000
Subtotal 15,500 3,100
Office, shop and storage
faility - (to ~e located on a
1-acre parcel) $200,000 40 5,000
Two-way radio system, including
1 base station, and 5 mobile
units. 10,000 2',000
Subtotal $286,500 > 22,300
Inventory 30,000 NA
TOTAL 316,500 -2%,300'
*A new Office, Shop, and Storage facility could be constructed at the
City's Corporation Yard.
An alternate would be to construct a Butler type Shop and Storage
building at Pumping Plant No. 1 on Ashe Road and to rehabilitate
the existing office building. This would be a temporary measure to
help reduce initial costs and at some future date the Butler type
building could be relocated at a more permanent site. Estimated
cost of alternate is between $30,000 and $40,000.
HATCH .~D PARENT
STANLle'Y C. HATCH A PROI~EsSiONAL CORPORATION AREA CODE
GERALD B-PARENT ;~1 EAST CARRILLO STREET TELEPHONE
JOHN A. B~RRYHIL[ POST OFFICE DRAWER
RONALO W. COOK ~ANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA 93102
SUSAN F. DEWEY
FRANKLYN 5. NICHAELSON ~e ~ I ~7~
Edward J. Tiedemann, Esq.
Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard
555 Capitol Mall, Suite 855
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: GEORGE NICKEL -- OLCESE WATER DISTRICT
Dear Mr. Tiedemann:
It is my understanding that George Nickel has recently
made numerous inquirie~ :o~ the City regarding the status of
our plan for future spreading operations on the City's pro-
perty west of town. I am at a disadvantage, having heard
nothing further from you since my telephone conversation of
April 11 and my letter of April 16, 1979.
I am told that you Will not be involved in the negotia-
tions relating to the spreading arrangements on behalf of
Olcese because of your relationship with the Kern County Water
Agency. It was my understanding, however, that you would be
in a position to provide us with the information which I
requested relating to the status of the lower river rights.
If I am misinformed in this regard, please let me know.
So that there is no misunderstanding of what is needed,
I would appreciate, on behalf of the City, your advice on and
documentation to support the status of, the "lower river
rights" as follows:
1. The present ownership status of-the lower river
rights, including storage rights in Isabella reservoir, i.e.,
what person or entity presently owns the rights and what limi-
tations or conditions exist regarding them.
2. If these rights are not presently owned by the
Olcese Water District, what action is proposed to transfer
these water rights to the Olcese Water District and under what
terms and conditions, if any?
3. The nature of the lower river right, i.e., is it
contended to be riparian, appropriative, or what?
Edward J. Tiedemann, Esq.
June 6, 1979
Page two.
4. To what extent will the use of the lower river rights
in the upper river area adversely affect in any way any ~other
riparian or any other appropriator of water? Please identify
any other riparian owners which might be affected, particularly
in the lower river area, or confirm the non-existence of such
rights and the justification for reaching such a conclusion.
5. What legal theories exist which would support the
right to divert lower river rights, including water in storage
in Lake Isabella, to storage in the groundwater basins under-
lying the City's spreading grounds for subsequent use in the
Olcese area?
We think, it is essential that we have the very best infor-
mation that can be developed on the above issues because we
think it very likely that these questions will be raised by
others in the future. This concern has been recently confirmed
by the fact that some of these questions have already been
raised privately by entities interested in the Kern River Fan
area~ We think that it is essential that both Olcese and the
City be in a position to respond with authority as to 01cese's.
rights.
Given the importance of the above information to the
formulation of the City's future program, and given George
Nickel's feelings of urgency regarding this matter, we would
appreciate your response as soon as possible.
Thank you for your assistance. If you need any further
clarification, please feel free to contact me.
Very truly yours,
STANLEY C. HATCH
for HATCH AND PARENT~
'~ ' SCH/dm
cc: ,John Chaf£n
Thomas M. Stetson
George Nickel