PCWA receives North Tahoe Basin reports

Special districts present reports

AUBURN, Calif. – For its September 19 Board meeting, the Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) Board of Directors traveled to north Lake Tahoe for its annual east slope meeting, hosted by the North Tahoe Public Utility District (NTPUD). Joining NTPUD was Northstar Community Services District (NCSD), Squaw Valley Public Service District (SVPSD), the Tahoe City Public Utility District (TCPUD), and Truckee Donner Public Utility District (TDPUD), all of whom presented individual reports to the PCWA Board.

The NTPUD was represented by District Engineer Will Stelter, who reported on the district’s efforts to reduce water use in its service area 20 percent by 2020, as required by state law. According to Stelter, the NTPUD is on pace to meet its target. Stelter also spoke about the recently completed Loch Levon and Steelhead Main projects. Combined, the two projects replaced old piping and moved a number of mains to public rights-of-way, while bringing the system up to necessary fire suppression standards.

Mike Staudenmayer, General Manager for NCSD, focused his comments on the district’s public safety planning. In particular, he presented on NCSD’s forest management work to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire within the community and the biomass utilization feasibility study underway. Additionally, he spoke about the district’s efforts to prepare for potential Liberty Energy Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events this fall.

SVPSD General Manager Mike Geary made a presentation on two projects: the Olympic Meadow Preserve and the Truckee River Siphon Replacement Project, of which PCWA awarded $10,000 through its Financial Assistance Program in 2018. The Olympic Meadow Preserve is a 30-acre parcel in Squaw Valley, which SVPSD would like to purchase to preserve as open space and community gathering area. The Truckee River Siphon Replacement Project was a $2.28 million wastewater project that placed two new pipelines under the Truckee River to increase the level of service and provide necessary redundancy. Originally constructed in 1976, the siphon was showing multiple areas of lining failure.

Tony Laliotis, Director of Utilities for TCPUD, reported on ongoing water system consolidation efforts within TCPUD’s service area and the recently completed Bunker Tank Replacement Project. With regards to consolidation, Laliotis noted that consolidation benefits the community by providing a more reliable water supply and reducing costs through shared resources, equipment, and expertise. The Bunker Tank Replacement Project replaced an old 500,000-gallon redwood water tank with a new 1.2 million gallon steel tank.

Steve Poncelet, TDPUD’s Assistant General Manager, and Brian Wright, TDPUD’s Assistant Water Utility Director, wrapped up the presentations. Poncelet commented on TDPUD’s efforts to prepare for the wildfire season by doubling the district’s tree-trimming and vegetation management budget, changing operations during a wildfire, and drafting a new wildfire mitigation plan. Wright spoke of a decrease in water production due to water-efficiency management efforts and a future cost of service rate study.

The next regular meeting of the PCWA Board of Directors will be held on Thursday, October 3, 2:00 pm at the PCWA Business Center, 144 Ferguson Road, in Auburn. PCWA board meetings are open to the public.

For information on PCWA board meetings, please contact the Clerk to the Board at (530) 823-4850 or (800) 464-0030.