LAKEPORT, Calif. – With the drought conditions in Lake County continuing to worsen, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday continued a declaration of a local emergency it originally passed in the spring.
In March the board unanimously approved the declaration, which they're required to revisit and extend once a month. Tuesday's extension of the declaration was the fourth the board has authorized.
Lake County Office of Emergency Services Marisa Chilafoe asked the board to continue the local emergency declaration.
“I think it's obvious conditions have not improved,” said Chilafoe, who explained that the declaration is necessary for the county to obtain grand funding to improve local water systems impacted by the drought.
During the meeting Chilafoe also presented to the board an update on the county drought task force.
She said at the June 25 meeting of the county's disaster council, it was decided that the county needed to significantly increase its response efforts to ensure that the proper quality and quantity of water in county water systems are maintained.
A large drought task force has been put together, said Chilafoe, explaining that it's composed of the Office of Emergency Services and other county departments such as the agriculture commissioner, along with the Lake County Winegrape Commission.
Chilafoe is chairing the drought task force, with Special Districts Compliance Coordinator Jan Coppinger acting as vice chair. Chilafoe also asked that one of the board members serving on the disaster council – either Rob Brown or Jeff Smith – sit on the task force.
The task force's first meeting is at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, July 17, in the board chambers at the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport, Chilafoe said.
Brown moved to continue the declaration, which Smith seconded before the board voted 5-0.
County staff also updated the board on efforts to conserve water across county operations, such as parks.
Public Services Director Caroline Chavez said her staff did an analysis of water use in their department. “Overall, we have a 44-percent reduction in our water usage and a 30-percent reduction in our rates.”
At some of the parks, like Lakeside in Kelseyville and Alpine in Lucerne, the grounds aren't being watered, as the lake is their source and the lake level has dropped so far that the intakes can't reach the water, she said.
Alpine has the option of hooking up to a domestic well to save the landscape, she said. County parks in Middletown and Upper Lake also have wells, while Nylander Park in Clearlake Oaks uses domestic water.
Chavez told the board that restroom use at parks and water-related vandalism have large impacts on overall water use and aren't factors that can be controlled.
The county is required to maintain parks that have received state grant funds. She said the state has been notified of the county's water issues and the need to conserve.
Board Chair Denise Rushing asked about using nonpotable water for watering landscaping. Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger said the county would still be required to meet certain treatment standards. Dellinger explained that dual plumbing systems also are needed for graywater systems.
Chavez said she can look at the feasibility of adding more wells for county parks, but Smith said he felt it was less expensive to extend the water intake valves for the parks further into the lake. Chavez said such a project could itself take a year due to the Army Corps of Engineers permitting process.
Special Districts offers urgency ordinance updates
In March, the board also approved urgency ordinances to implement conservation measures in certain county water systems.
Coppinger updated the board on the status of water supply and conservation efforts in the Starview, Mt. Hannah, Bonanza Springs and Paradise Valley county service areas.
In Starview, the static well level dropped another 4 percent in June for an overall 17-percent decrease since January 2013, she said.
Systemwide conservation efforts in Starview have reduced usage 35 percent over last year, according to Coppinger.
Coppinger said the urgency ordinance allows every household to use 275 gallons per day before getting a $350 surcharge. Approximately 142 customers stayed within that allotment, while seven customers far exceeded it.
Special Districts plans to explore how to address the overuse. “We can’t allow just a few to jeopardize the system,” she said, noting that the time of the year when water tables are at their lowest is about to arrive, and Starview has no backup well.
“We’re trying to really convince everybody up there that this system needs conservation,” she said.
In the Mt. Hannah system, water levels also have dropped and the recharge rate is declining, she said. In January 2013, water could be reached 24.8 feet down, but by this past June 30 the well depth had dropped to 47.1 feet.
The system can't produce enough water to keep its storage tanks full. Coppinger said they have to pump for an hour and shut down for three to four hours to allow for recharge, a situation she likened to being in intensive care.
Plans are to begin drilling a new well next week – a project that was delayed from last week due to equipment issues for the well driller, Coppinger said. The California Department of Public Health has approved grant funds to pay for the new well and Special Districts has applied for emergency grant funding through the California Department of Water Resources to replace the transmission line.
With the system “hanging on by its teeth,” Coppinger said extraordinary conservation efforts are under way in the district. The average household in the Mt. Hannah District uses 78 gallons of water per day. “They're really on board and they’re working with us.
Bonanza Springs' well levels have dropped 16 percent and they're exploring an option for a third well. Coppinger said the district's users have reduced overall consumption 32 percent compared to last year, but of the system's 170 customers, 16 are using in excess of the allotment and of those, six are using more than twice the amount alloted – in some cases, more than 1,000 gallons daily.
In Paradise Valley, levels of the system's three wells have dropped a total of 9 percent since the start of the year, with customers cutting use by 43 percent over this time last year. Coppinger said the district didn't have adequate source capacity to begin with, “so watching these drop is really scary.”
Special Districts has applied for emergency funding from the state and is trying to help the district link with the Clearlake Oaks County Water District, Coppinger said.
Well levels are starting to drop in other areas as well, according to a written report Coppinger presented to the board.
The report showed Kono Tayee's levels were down 7 percent, with a 40-percent reduction in consumption due to voluntary conservation; Spring Valley has reduced consumption by 10 percent; Kelseyville-Finley has seen an 11-percent drop in its wells in the last six months with a 30-percent consumption decrease.
The Soda Bay and North Lakeport water systems are not experiencing difficulties currently, although treatment has had to be increased due to the lake's conditions, according to Coppinger's report.
She said Special Districts will be coming back to the board with proposals for urgency ordinances in other systems.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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