By Chik Brenneman

Please note that some of these guidelines are not appropriate for this time of year in PV. I present them here to make everyone aware that water conservation is a year round effort.

Remember, wasted water, literally goes down the drain!!

Most water use, and waste, occurs outdoors. However it is our responsibility to conserve water indoors also. By adopting any of the outdoor and indoor water saving tips you'll save hundreds, maybe thousands of gallons of water.

• Maintain your sprinklers. Water efficiently; most lawns only require a 15 minute watering, twice per week. (at 10 gallons a minute, this uses a total of 150 gallons)
• Put a layer of mulch in your planters to slow down evaporation.
• Use a pistol grip nozzle on your hose instead of letting your hose run. This could save almost 10 gallons per minute.
• Avoid run-off. Don't water your driveways or walkways. Use a broom or blower instead of the hose.
• Incorporate water efficient plants into your landscape.
• Repair leaky faucets (saves up to 200 gallons per month)
• When purchasing a washing machine. Consider a high efficiency type. These units save up to 30 gallons per load.
• Run only full loads of laundry or dishes. This could save up to 800 gallons per month.
• Repair your silent toilet leaks. Saves up to 50 gallons per day.
• Install ultra low flush toilets.
• Turn off the tap, when brushing your teeth.
• Install low flow shower heads.
• Cut 1-2 minutes off your shower time. (In the case of the teenagers, cut 55 minutes off their shower by knowing where the house stop and drain valve is)

I urge everyone one to use their water responsibly. Set a goal of conserving 10 percent this month, and maybe 15 percent next month. Be conscious and be aware. Every time you turn on that faucet, it puts a burden on our water system. Pla-Vada seems to be growing at a rate of 5 new homes per year. Every bit of water pumped, is that much water that is not available to us in the future.

Help preserve our precious resource for the future wellbeing of Pla-Vada.

#2: Your Water

By Chik Brenneman

Lets start this article out by giving the raw facts. For the Month of December, We pumped approximately 1.2 million gallons of water from our two wells. We continue to pump large amounts of water. I cannot stress the importance of water conservation. Our system was plagued with leaks. The leaks were quite serious in that our 90,000 gallon tank was nearly drained causing some of our users to loose pressure. With the normally high usage in the winter, because we supply water to Caltrans, as of this writing, we are still trying to catch up.

Most of these leaks can be prevented with proper winterization of your home or cabin. For those part-timers, a stop and drain valve should be installed, and when you leave, turn off your water and drain your pipes. For year round residents, in these colder months, identify exposed plumbing and insulate them.

Last October, we were inspected by the State of California, Department of Health Services Representative, Gunther Sturm, P.E. Gunther is the District Engineer for the Valley Field Office of DHS, Drinking Water Division. The overall tone of the inspection was positive, and he was impressed by our current record keeping and operational procedures, however, there are some serious issues that the Association must deal with as a result of the inspection.

I have included excerpts from the inspection report and an overview of the action, the Board is taking in response to the inspection. Please read on.

The overall operation of the PVCA's water system was found to be satisfactory. The operator, Brian Silsby, has done a commendable job in maintaining important system operational records and keeping the system facilities in good condition. We also commend the Association for abandoning a number of springs and infiltration wells that were of generally shallow construction and very susceptible to contamination. Eliminating these facilities has definitely improved the sanitary reliability of the water system. There are, however, some serious system deficiencies and long overdue requirements still to be addressed.

The PVCA needs to aggressively pursue compliance with the state and federal regulations and address the following issues:

1) Adequate Source Capacity

The current system source capacity does not meet minimum Water Works Standards. PVCA recognizes the need to develop additional source capacity and is currently pursuing negotiations for an additional 11 gallons per minute (gpm). We fully support this effort, however, an additional 11 gpm will not be enough to meet the needed source capacity. PVCA must develop a plan and time line for providing source and storage capacity in compliance with the Water Works Standards. ....The Department may consider imposing a service moratorium if the source and storage issue is not addressed in a timely manner. (Section 64562, Title 22, California Code of Regulations, specifically states that "Sufficient water shall be available from the water sources and distribution reservoirs to supply adequately, dependably and safely the total requirements of all users under maximum demand conditions before agreement is made to permit additional service connections to a system. ")

PVCA continues to look for additional water source capacity. At the time of the DHS inspection, the Association had already begun the process of negotiation with Robert Sinnock with respect to the acquisition of water rights from Mr. Sinnock's well, adjacent to the PV easement where the 90K storage tank is located. Mr. Sinnock's well produces around 50 gallons per minute of water. Additional wells. Preliminary discussions have begun, within the infrastructure committee to explore drilling an additional well on PV property, or increasing the depth of existing Well # 4.

Additional storage capacities are being addressed as follows:

PVCA will relinquish the land where its springs were located in exchange for an expanded easement in and around its existing 90K gallon water storage facility. These easements are currently on property owned by Mr. Sinnock. PVCA will pursue investigation of putting a larger tank on the expanded easement.

2) Meters

The existing services are not metered. State law mandates that all new domestic water services be outfitted with meters. The PVCA needs to start implementing the meter requirements and proceed with metering all new services.

This law has been on the books in California since 1992, however, never adopted by the Association. The Board voted at its last meeting to require water meters on all new construction, and will have a policy for existing construction in place by March 1st, 2004.

3) Cross-Connection Control Program

State regulations require that all public water systems develop an approved cross connection control program and have procedures in place that allow the utility to enforce all provisions of the cross-connection control program.

Essentially a Cross Connection Control Program is a system of backflow prevention devices that are placed on some users water mains to prevent water from re-entering the drinking water system A couple of examples would be in a building that has fire sprinklers, boilers for heating, or irrigation lines. This program is necessary to prevent water from being re-used once is taken by the customer. This program is targeted to be in placed the by the end of January.

4) Chemical and UCMR Monitoring

In reviewing our database, we find that the PVCA chemical and Unregulated Chemical monitoring and reporting is not in compliance with the Water Quality and Monitoring Regulations.

5) Radiological Monitoring

The water supply permit issued to PVCA in 1988 also had a condition that required the PVCA to collect four quarters of radiological analyses from each source. Our database does not show any radiological water quality analyses from Well #3 and Well #4.

Testing for extensive review of our water quality has been initiated and a procedure has been developed to ensure that the testing is carried out in the timeline that is required by the State of California. You will see the results of this test in the annual water quality report that is distributed in June.

A committee has been established by the Board to pursue the necessary course of action to address the issues in the DHS report. This committee consists of Bret Natali, Association Vice President, and Gregg Hall, Recording Secretary and myself. This committees responsibility is to develop a long range infrastructure improvement plan and submit it to the entire Board for review and action. This plan would be in part, a course of action as the result of the DHS report, in addition to ensuring community build out is possible for all Association members.

The Board has also initiated discussions with two qualified engineering firms to assist in the development of our long range plan. The firms, Ecologic, of Roseville, and Dewante and Stowe, of El Dorado Hills, are qualified engineers in the areas where the Association requires technical assistance. Both of these firms are familiar with Pla-Vada's infrastructure.

The implications of inaction to these issues addressed in the State report are serious and the Board is committed to follow through with the appropriate measures necessary to correct any deficiencies. The Board also needs the membership support to carry out this action. Show your support by attending our meetings. Become aware of just how much work is involved in providing water to all of our members. Develop an appreciation for the precious resource we have.

And finally, Practice conservation, because wasted water, literally, goes down the drain!

#3: Water and the Winter Months

By Chik Brenneman

I reported in Your Water that the system has been plagued with water leaks the past week. That is true, and we had a very serious problem on Aspen Court resulting in several days of no water to the homes there. Brian, our caretaker, is to be commended for locating this particular leak. It was located under about five feet of snow, some one hundred feet away from the nearest house, and near where the natural spring is located. So at first glance, it could've been assumed that the flow was from the spring, but Brian investigated further. Great work with the shovel, Brian.

Every winter we have problems with broken pipes. In this case, we had a total of four breaks. And while the problem on Aspen Court was not in a cabin, the other three leaks were in cabins and this was a situation that could have been prevented. Water damage can be very costly to clean up.

I am including here some generalized guidelines, on how to prevent frozen pipes in your cabin. But before I list them, it is also important to note, that running your water all winter to avoid freezing pipes is not acceptable and actually leads to greater water loss (1000 gallons per day!!) and possible damage to your house. If the Yuba River can freeze, so can the running water in your cabin and please don't assume your home is immune to the development of beautiful ice sculptures.

First and foremost, prepare your house or cabin for the winter season by ensuring that your stop and drain valve is functioning properly. All homes should be equipped with this type of valve. It is required as part of our Builders handbook.

Secondly, whenever you leave your cabin for two or more days, turn off the water and open the drain. Do this even if you heat your cabin. Every cabin has cold spots. If you have cold spots, and there is plumbing there, invest a few dollars in some heat tape. This is available at most any hardware store in the area.

Once the water is turned off, cycle the dishwasher and the clothes washer through a drain cycle to ensure any residual water is expelled from the pump reservoirs. A thirty second shot at the appropriate time in the cycle should be sufficient.

For your toilet/drain traps, to prevent them from freezing, use a toilet/drain plunger to push most of the water through and then add some RV antifreeze to the traps. Make sure that the entire trap is full with antifreeze. Your average drain will take a cup or so, the toilet about a pint. Be sure to use the RV water system antifreeze that contains Propylene glycol. It is potable and will not pollute our sewer system. This again is available at the local hardware store.

In the future, we will notify the community about water crises via signage at the bridge. When there are significant leaks, we need everyone's help in locating them. When you see the signage, take a walk around the houses in your immediate area. If you see any water leaks, please report them immediately to Brian at 426-3703.

In closing, it is everyone's responsibility to protect their property from needless water damage and to conserve the community's precious water resource. Thanks for everyone's help. Pla-Vada is truly a special place. Lets keep it that way.