Mar 05, 2026 Utilities Commission - Infrastructure Committee

[00:00:03]

GOOD MORNING, CHAIR AUSTIN.

[CALL TO ORDER]

[2. 26-54500 Recommendation to receive and file Gas Regulatory Compliance Update.       Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]

UM, THIS IS, UM, BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND THE RISKS THAT THE GAS INFRASTRUCTURES, UM, HAS TO KIND OF OVERCOME IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN A SYSTEM THAT IS RELIABLE AND ABLE TO DELIVER GAS SAFELY.

AND SO WITH THAT, I CALL ON CHUCK TO PRESENT THE, UH, THE ITEM.

MORNING COMMISSIONERS.

MY NAME IS CHUCK RITO, MANAGER OF GAS ENGINEERING.

I OVERSEE OUR GAS INSPECTION GROUP AND ALSO SERVE AS THE GAS COMPLIANCE OFFICER FOR THE GAS UTILITY.

FOLLOWING IS A BRIEF PRESENTATION ON GAS REGULATORY COMPLIANCE AS IT APPLIES TO PIPELINE SAFETY.

AND IN THIS PRESENTATION, UH, WE'LL FIRST PROVIDE SOME CONTEXT AND GO OVER PROVIDE MUNICIPAL GAS UTILITIES IN THE US AND WHERE LBU FITS IN.

THEN WE'LL SHIFT OUR FOCUS TO CALIFORNIA AND GAS UTILITIES WITHIN OUR STATE.

UH, NEXT WE'LL GO OVER REGULATORY OVERSIGHT AND REGULATIONS SPECIFICALLY AND CALIFORNIA.

AND THEN WE'LL GO OVER IN, UH, GET INTO THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF THIS PRESENTATION.

UH, AND THAT'S THE MAJOR COMPLIANCE PROGRAMS THAT LBU IS REQUIRED TO MANAGE AND MAINTAIN.

AND FINALLY, UH, WE'LL CLOSE IT ALL OUT BY GOING OVER WHY COMPLIANCE MATTERS IN THE, SO IN THE US ROUGHLY 90% OF CUSTOMERS ARE SERVED BY INVESTOR OWNED UTILITIES, IOUS, LIKE SOCALGAS AND PG E.

THE OTHER 10% OF CUSTOMERS ARE SERVED BY MUNICIPALLY OWNED GAS UTILITIES LIKE LBU, AND WITHIN MUNICIPALLY OWNED UTILITIES IN THE US, LBU IS THE SEVENTH LARGEST IN THE NATION WITH 150,000 CUSTOMERS IN CALIFORNIA.

LBU IS THE LARGEST MUNICIPALLY OWNED GAS UTILITY OUT OF THE SEVEN THAT EXISTS IN THE STATE.

UH, NONETHELESS, AS YOU CAN SEE IN THIS MAP, CALIFORNIA, JUST LIKE THE REST OF THE NATION IS DOMINATED AND PRIMARILY SERVED BY THE IOUS, THE INVESTOR OWNED UTILITIES SOCALGAS, WITH 22 MILLION CUSTOMERS BEING THE LARGEST GAS UTILITY IN THE NATION, YOU HAVE PG AND E IN THE NORTH WITH 4 MILLION AND SAN DIEGO, SAN DIEGO GAS AND ELECTRIC DOWN SOUTH WITH A MILLION CUSTOMERS.

NOW IN THE US ALL GAS UTILITIES ULTIMATELY REPORT TO THE FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION VIA IM A, THE PIPELINE HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, AND MUST COMPLY WITH THE TITLE 49 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS.

AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE RED TEXT.

NOW, WHILE MANY STATES ADD THEIR OWN REQUIREMENTS TO THE FEDERAL CODE, CALIFORNIA'S OVERSIGHT DEPENDS ON UTILITY TYPE.

AND BECAUSE IOUS, THE INVESTOR-OWNED UTILITIES SERVE THE MAJORITY OF THE STATE, AS WE SAW IN THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, UH, THEY REMAIN THE STATE'S PRIMARY FOCUS AND ARE REGULATED BY THE STATE THROUGH THE CPUC.

AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE BLUE TEXT, THIS LEAVES MUNICIPAL OPERATORS LIKE LBU, WHO ARE, UH, IN THE MINORITY IN CALIFORNIA UNDER FEDERAL JURISDICTION.

UH, SO NOW GIVEN THAT CONTEXT, UH, PROVIDED IN THE PREVIOUS SLIDES, WE'LL NOW GO OVER THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF THIS PRESENTATION, WHICH ARE THE PIPELINE SAFETY PROGRAMS MANAGED BY LBU AS REQUIRED BY FEDERAL CODE.

AND WE'LL GO OVER EACH OF THESE PROGRAMS IN DETAIL IN THE FOLLOWING SLIDES.

FIRST, FIRST UP, WE HAVE THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE MANUAL, ALSO KNOWN AS THE OM.

THIS DOCUMENT, WHICH IS NEARLY A THOUSAND PAGES LONG, CONTAINS DETAILED PROCEDURES ON HOW TO OPERATE AND MAINTAIN L'S GAS SYSTEM.

IT COVERS A WIDE VARIETY OF INSTRUCTIONS FROM HOW TO INSTALL A GAS MAIN IN THE GROUND TO HOW TO CONDUCT A LEAK INVESTIGATION.

UH, THERE IS SO MUCH GOOD INFORMATION IN THE ON M, HOWEVER, CAUTION MUST BE TAKEN WHEN ADDING CONTENT TO THIS DOCUMENT BECAUSE PER CODE, ANY INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THE ONM, AS WELL

[00:05:01]

NEXT UP, WE HAVE THE DISTRIBUTION, DISTRIBUTION AND INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT PLAN, ALSO KNOWN AS DIM.

THIS PLAN ENSURES THAT OPERATORS KNOW THEIR SYSTEMS WEAKNESSES AND HAVE MEASURES IN PLACE TO ADDRESS THOSE WEAKNESSES.

IT CONTAINS A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF THREATS TO THE SYSTEM, A RANKING AND PRIORITIZATION OF THOSE THREATS, ACCELERATED ACTIONS TO ADDRESS THOSE THREATS AND METRICS TO MONITOR THE STATUS OF THOSE THREATS.

THE IMAGE ON THE RIGHT SHOWS A HEAT MAP OF GAS MAINS THAT ARE COLOR CODED BASED ON THE RISK LEVEL AND IS DRIVEN BY DIM DATA.

THIS NEXT SLIDE COVERS OUR OPERATOR QUALIFICATION PLAN, OR OQ.

OQ ENSURES OUR FIELD EMPLOYEES ARE QUALIFIED TO SAFELY PERFORM VARIOUS GAS RELATED TASKS.

AND THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, EMPLOYEES ARE TESTED ON THEIR KNOWLEDGE, THEIR SKILLS AND RECOGNITION AND RESPONSE TO AOCS, ALSO KNOWN AS, UH, ABNORMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS LIKE LEAKAGE OR MATERIAL DAMAGE.

EXAMPLES OF OQ TASKS INCLUDE TURNING A VALVE WELDING SEAL PIPE OR LOCATING BURIED GAS PIPELINE.

SOME EMPLOYEES ARE TESTED ON AS MANY AS 30 OQ TASKS AND IS DONE ON A, GENERALLY SPEAKING ON A 30 ON A THREE YEAR CYCLE.

THE IMAGE ON THE RIGHT IS A PHOTO OF AN OQ EVALUATION BEING CONDUCTED, AND OQ IS A PRIORITY ITEM FOR F IMSA FOR THE PIPELINE HAZARDOUS MATERIAL SAFETY ADMINISTRATION AS IT IS A RECORD THAT IS, UH, FREQUENTLY REQUESTED BY OUR AUDITORS WHEN WE'RE, WHEN THEY'RE CONDUCTING THEIR INSPECTIONS.

NEXT UP, WE HAVE THE DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING PROGRAM, WHICH IS PRIMARILY MANAGED BY CITY SAFETY.

DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING APPLIES VIRTUALLY TO ALL LBU GAS FIELD EMPLOYEES AND TESTING IT IS IS ADMINISTERED BY OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT, UH, THROUGH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT.

IMSA REQUIRES A MINIMUM OF 50% OF OUR EMPLOYEES TO BE RANDOMLY TESTED PER YEAR.

AND, UH, ONE INTERESTING NOTE, BECAUSE MANY OF OUR LBUM EMPLOYEES ALSO CARRY CLASS A DRIVER'S LICENSES, WHICH HAS ITS OWN SET OF DRUG TESTING REQUIREMENTS, THESE SAME INDIVIDUALS ARE INCLUDING, ARE INCLUDED IN A SECOND DRUG TESTING POOL.

SO THEY MAY BE ACTUALLY TESTED MULTIPLE TIMES DURING THE YEAR.

THIS NEXT PLAN IS THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN, WHICH ENSURES A STANDARDIZED AND EFFECTIVE RESPONSE TO EMERGENCY EVENTS.

IT CONTAINS PROCEDURES FOR RESPONDING TO VARIOUS LEVELS OF EMERGENCIES, CONTACT INFO FOR EMERGENCY RESPONDERS, AND OTHER RELATED EMERGENCY INFORMATION.

THIS PLAN ALSO HAS A REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT AN ANNUAL EMERGENCY EXERCISE AND ENSURE, UH, TO ENSURE EMPLOYEES ARE PREPARED TO RESPOND TO AN EMERGENCY.

SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE MERGER, THESE EMERGENCY EXERCISES HAVE BEEN PLANNED AND ADMINISTERED BY SEAN CURTIS AND THE SECURITY AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS TEAM.

SEAN'S EXPERTISE IN THE EMERGENCY, IN EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS BENEFIT TO THE GAS UTILITY RESULTING FROM THE MERGER.

AND THIS FINAL PLAN WE'LL BE COVERING IS THE PUBLIC AWARENESS PLAN, WHICH AIMS TO INCREASE PUBLIC SAFETY THROUGH OUTREACH AND EDUCATION BY TARGETING RESIDENTS, BUSINESSES, EMERGENCY OFFICIALS, LIKE FIRE AND POLICE, PUBLIC OFFICIALS LIKE OUR BOARD AND EXCAVATORS.

THE CORE MESSAGING OF THIS PLAN IS TO CALL 8 1 1 BEFORE DIGGING AND, UH, TO PREVENT PIPELINE DAMAGE, TO RECOGNIZE SIGNS OF LEAKAGE, GAS LEAKAGE, AND TO RESPOND APPROPRIATELY TO THOSE GAS LEAKS.

SINCE THE MERGER, THE FLYERS AND PAMPHLETS GOING OUT TO THE PUBLIC HAVE BEEN EXPERTLY DESIGNED AND PRODUCED BY THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS TEAM.

MANY OF, UH, WHICH ARE ARE HERE IN OUR AUDIENCE, UH, INCLUDING THE TRIFOLD SHOWN ON THE SCREEN, UH, WHICH HAS BEEN A HUGE BENEFIT OF THE MERGER.

CET EVENTS HAVE ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED PUBLIC OUTREACH WITH GAS SAFETY INFORMATION AS A RESULT OF THIS, OF OUR MERGER.

NOW, WITH ALL OF THE PLANS AND PROGRAMS REQUIRED BY LBU TO MANAGE AND MAINTAIN, IT CAN BE EASY TO FORGET WHY ALL OF THIS MATTERS, BUT FIRST AND FOREMOST, MAINTAINING COMPLIANCE KEEPS THE PUBLIC SAFE AS WELL AS OUR EMPLOYEES.

[00:10:01]

THIRD, MAINTAINING COMPLIANCE MINIMIZES THE CITY'S AND DEPARTMENTS LIABILITY BY ENHANCING SAFETY, UH, IN OUR SYSTEM.

AND LASTLY, MAINTAINING COMPLIANCE IMPROVES OUR SYSTEM'S INTEGRITY AND LONGEVITY.

AND THIS CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION AT THIS TIME.

UH, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU.

UH, FIRST I'D LIKE TO GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT.

IF THERE'S ANY HEARING NONE, I'LL TAKE IT BACK BEHIND THE COMMITTEE.

UH, COUNCIL, I MEAN, MAN.

WOW, I GOT MISSION .

THANK YOU FOR THE REPORT.

CAN, COULD YOU GO BACK TO THE, UH, DISTRIBUTION IN INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT PLAN, AND COULD YOU JUST TALK TO ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE COLORS AND AND WHAT THEY, THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THOSE? SO, UH, THE COLORS, UH, REPRESENT THE, WHAT SCARES ME IS SHOWN IN GREEN REPRESENTS THE, UH, GAS MAINS IN OUR SYSTEM THAT ARE LOWER RISK BASED ON THE DM UH, DATA.

UH, THE, THE MAINS THAT ARE CLOSER TO THE RED IN THE SPECTRUM ARE THE HIGHER RISK BASED ON THE DATA FROM FROM OUR DM PLAN.

YES.

UH, SO, UH, IN THIS SOFTWARE THAT WE USE, THIS MAPPING SOFTWARE, UH, THERE IS A SCORING THAT IS, UM, THAT EACH MAIN GETS BASED ON THREATS THAT ARE PRESENT ON THAT MAIN OR AROUND THAT MAIN, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, THE AGE OF THAT MAIN, UH, WOULD BE A CERTAIN SCORE, UM, CON, UH, THAT MAIN CONTAINING CERTAIN FITTINGS THAT ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO LEAKAGE WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER WOULD BE CON WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE OVERALL SCORE.

UH, THE PRESSURE OF THAT MAIN, UH, WHATEVER THAT PRESSURE IS, THE, UH, PROXIMITY TO SCHOOLS, ALL OF THAT, UH, WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE THE RISK COLOR.

YES.

UH, ONE OF THE, UH, CONSIDERATIONS FOR CIP IS TO KIND OF LOOK TO, IS TO LOOK TO THIS MAP.

SO AREAS THAT ARE RED, UM, WOULD, YES, IT'S MOSTLY DUE TO AGE.

IT'S MOSTLY DUE TO AGE.

UM, IT, IT'S ALSO DUE TO THE PRESSURE, UH, OF THE SYSTEM WHERE THE LOCATION WHERE THAT IS IN RED, MOST OF THAT IS 40 POUNDS, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST PRESSURE THAT WE HAVE IN OUR SYSTEM.

SO THAT CONTRIBUTES TO IT BEING, UH, HIGHER RISK.

UH, FIRST QUESTION, UH, IT IS, UH, WE ARE REQUIRED TO, UM, UPDATE IT EVERY YEAR.

SO ANNUALLY WE ARE REQUIRED TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE THE CHANGES AND, AND ISSUE OUT A VERSION ANNUALLY.

UM, WHENEVER, WHENEVER THERE IS A NEW REQUIREMENT FOR YES, GREAT QUESTION.

PRIMARILY THE LATTER.

IT'S, UH, THROUGH, UM, SO THIS DOCUMENT IS AVAILABLE TO OUR, ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES, AND THEY'RE ALL REQUIRED TO, TO FOLLOW IT.

AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING IN THE, IN THE DOCUMENT THAT IS INCONSISTENT OR NEEDS TO BE UPDATED, UH, BASED ON FEEDBACK FROM OUR EMPLOYEES, THEY, UH, THEY WOULD SUBMIT A REQUEST TO MAKE THE CHANGE AND IT WOULD BE REVIEWED.

THAT FEEDS INTO THE ANNUAL UPDATE.

THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT FEEDS INTO THE ANNUAL UPDATE.

VERY RARELY THERE WOULD BE TIMES WHEN THE REGULATOR WOULD HAVE NEW REGULATIONS THAT WOULD IMPACT THIS.

UH, I REMEMBER, I REMEMBER MAYBE A COUPLE TIMES THROUGHOUT THE 18 YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN WITH THE UTILITY, UH, BUT THAT ALSO FEED, THAT COULD FEED INTO THE ANNUAL UPDATE, BUT MOSTLY IT'S FROM, FROM, UH, FEEDBACK FROM STAFF.

OKAY.

AND THEN COULD, IF YOU COULD JUST KIND OF WALK ME THROUGH, THROUGH THE PROCESS, IT'S UPDATED AND THEN IT, DO WE SUBMIT, DOES IT COME TO THIS COMMISSION FOR APPROVAL OR DOES IT GO DIRECTLY TO THE BOARD OR THE, THIS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

[00:15:01]

UH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

SO AT THIS TIME, THE WAY IT IS, UH, UH, ONCE THE UPDATES ARE, ARE MADE, IT'S JUST, UH, DISTRIBUTED TO STAFF.

IT DOES NOT GO THROUGH THE BOARD, AT LEAST AT THIS TIME.

UM, THE WAY OUR REGULATOR SEES IT IS WHENEVER THEY CONDUCT THEIR AUDITS, THAT'S WHEN THEY ASK FOR THE LATEST VERSION OF THE OM AND THAT'S WHEN THEY DO THEIR REVIEW, THEIR, THEIR REVIEWS OF IT.

SO IT'S, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT'S SUBMITTED TO THEM, UH, REGULARLY.

IT'S, IT'S WHEN THEY ASK FOR IT.

OKAY.

AND THEN INTERNALLY, I GUESS MY LAST QUESTION INTERNALLY, DO YOU HAVE A DEADLINE THAT YOU ANNUALLY EVERY YEAR IT'S ADOPTED BY A CERTAIN DAY, CORRECT? YES.

AND PER THE CODE? UM, I THINK, I BELIEVE THAT IT SAYS THAT IT HAS TO BE, UH, UPDATED ONCE A YEAR, AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR, NOT TO EXCEED 15 MONTHS.

A LOT OF THE CODE IS, IS WRITTEN LIKE THAT IN, IN, UH, IN F IMSA'S, UH, CODE, BUT ONCE, UH, ONCE EVERY YEAR NOT TO EXCEED 15 MONTHS.

THIS COMPLIANCE IS PART OF F FM'S REQUIREMENT? YES.

YES.

THE OM IS IS, UH, A PART OF THE FEDERAL CODE.

ALL GAS OPERATORS HAVE TO HAVE AN OM.

THANK YOU.

GREAT JOB.

APPRECIATE IT.

THANK YOU.

I'LL JUST SAY COMMISSIONER PARK IS ON FIRE BECAUSE HE TOOK JUST ABOUT ALL OF MY QUESTIONS.

UH, MY, MY QUESTIONS WERE, WE'RE AIMED AT THE O AND M AS WELL, UM, BECAUSE YOU MENTIONED THAT IT, YOU KNOW, COMPLYING WITH IT WAS BASICALLY COMPLYING WITH CODE.

UM, ARE, ARE WE, THE, THIS IS A FOLLOW UP ON, ON, UM, COMMISSIONER PARKIN'S QUESTIONS.

UM, SO, SO THERE'S THE F FEMSA, OR WHAT DO WE CALL THAT? THE PIPELINE? HAZARDOUS AND MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION.

YEAH, THEY SET THE CODE.

IS OUR CODE, DOES IT MATCH OR, OR, OR IMPROVE UPON WHAT THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE? OH, GREAT QUESTION.

SO THE OM, UH, SHOULD MEET AT THE VERY MINIMUM, THE CODE.

OKAY.

WE COULD, WHEN WE ADD TO IT, IT COULD BE, YOU KNOW, IT OBVIOUSLY IT WOULD ONLY BE, UH, YOU KNOW, IT HAS TO BE OVER MUCH MORE THAN WHAT THE CODE SAYS SIMILARLY TO LIKE HOW OSHA AND COW OSHA ARE RELATIONSHIP THERE, RIGHT? THAT'S RIGHT.

COW OSHA STANDARDS CAN EXCEED WHAT FEDERAL STANDARDS ARE.

THAT'S CORRECT.

OKAY.

UM, SO THAT, THAT HELPS ME, ME, UM, UNDERSTAND THAT.

AND, AND SO, UM, IT, IT JUST SEEMS TO ME, AND I UNDERSTAND HOW IT'S CURRENTLY, UM, AND THIS IS A CONVERSATION THAT WE SHOULD HAVE AS, AS A COMMITTEE, PERHAPS, UM, THERE SHOULD BE SOME SORT OF AT LEAST AWARENESS AND A REVIEW FROM, FROM THIS BODY AS A POLICY BODY ON THE LOCAL LEVEL.

I'M NOT, THIS IS ADMINISTRATIVE.

I UNDERSTOOD, BUT, BUT EVEN IN APPROVING, UM, EVEN BRINGING IT TO THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS TO APPROVE THE, THE PLAN, RIGHT.

JUST SO THAT WE, WE ARE AWARE ON THE LOCAL LEVEL THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS PLAN IS, IS AN ANNUAL DEAL.

IT MIGHT BE AN EXTRA WORK ON STAFF TO, YOU KNOW, PUT TOGETHER INFORMATION.

BUT TO ME, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT JUST MAKES SENSE.

UM, AND, AND I DON'T KNOW WHO IMPROVE APPROVES THE, THE FEDERAL GUIDELINES, BUT, UM, IT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, WE WE'RE TAKING THIS ON, THIS IS THE FIRST, UH, UM, LEARNING OF THIS, THIS, UH, THIS REGULATORY COMPLIANCE UPDATE.

BUT, UM, I, I'D LIKE TO BE MORE, MORE INFORMED ABOUT, UH, THE REGULATORY WORK.

UH, SO, SO THANK YOU FOR THE REPORT.

UM, UH, I DID HAVE A QUESTION REGARDING THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN.

I KNOW WE JUST RECENTLY APPROVED, UH, CONSULTING AGREEMENT TO, TO DEAL WITH THAT.

IS THAT, IS THAT INCLUSIVE OF, OF THIS AS WELL? THE, THE, UM, THE AGREEMENT, THE, THE CONTRACTING YOU AUTHORIZED AT THE LAST BOARD MEETING IS SPECIFIC TO THE WATER AND SEWER, UM, OPERATIONS.

THE GAS FUND, OR THE GAS DEPARTMENT IS, UM, OPERATED BASED ON ALL THE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS THAT THEY HAVE, AND THEY DO IT, UM, IN-HOUSE WITH A AIDS OF DIFFERENT CONSULTANTS.

JULIE NOTED NOT.

WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO, HOW TO INTEGRATE THIS AT SOME POINT.

YES.

THANK YOU, MR. PARKER.

MORE QUESTIONS.

UH, HOW DOES THE PUBLICLY OWNED UTILITY AND THE CPUC INTERACT ON SOMETHING LIKE THIS? YOU KNOW, IF YOU KNOW, SO YES, THIS WOULD ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, BUT, UM, THE C THE INVESTOR OWNED UTILITIES, THE IOUS, THEY NOT ONLY, UH, ARE OVERSEEN BY THE, THE SAME REGULATORS THAT, UH, WOULD, YOU KNOW, UH, OVERSEE US, BUT THEY ALSO, THEY'RE PRIMARILY, UH,

[00:20:01]

SO IF I UNDERSTAND YOU CORRECTLY, THE CPUC PUTS OUT A GENERAL ORDER THAT IS IN ADDITION TO FSMA AND THEN THE INVESTOR OWNED UTILITIES NEED TO COMPLY WITH BOTH.

THAT'S CORRECT.

THE FEDERALS, IF IT, I'M NOT SAYING IT RIGHT, BUT IF THEY'RE, THAT'S THE MINIMUM.

AND THEN THE, THE STATE CPUC ADDS ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS ON THE UTILITIES.

THAT'S RIGHT.

OKAY.

AND SO PRIOR TO THE MERGER, DID THE GAS DEPARTMENT TAKE THEIR PLAN TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR MAYBE ANY ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS OR APPROVAL OF THE PLAN? UH, WE DID NOT TAKE THE, THE PLAN TO THE CITY COUNCIL PRIOR TO THE MERGER.

AND SO NOW THAT IT'S UNDER THE UTILITY COMMISSION, I ASSUME THEY, THAT WE WOULD, AS THE CHAIR SAID, AT LEAST WANT TO BE AWARE OF THE UPDATED PLAN OR TO BE, I CERTAINLY DON'T HAVE THE EXPERTISE TO SAY WHAT IT SHOULD HAVE IN IT AND SHOULDN'T, BUT, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST BE AWARE OF IT AND APPROVED IT AS THE GOVERNING BODY, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.

MAKES SENSE.

I, UH, BECAUSE I THINK, UH, AS FROM AN OVERSIGHT STANDPOINT, IF THERE IS A, AND THAT MAP MAKES ME NERVOUS, BUT IF THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE RED THAT GOES SIDEWAYS, UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, DOTTED ALL THE I'S AND CROSSED ALL THE T'S AND LOOKED AT EVERYTHING AND, AND MADE SURE THAT, NOT THAT YOU GUYS AREN'T, BUT MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING'S DONE ACCORDING TO HOW THE FEDERAL REGULATIONS AND MAYBE THE CPUC, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S IN GENERAL ORDER ONE 12 DASH F, BUT DO WE COMPLY WITH THAT TOO, OR DO WE NEED TO, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S IN IT.

NOT, NOT FOR US, UH, FOR MUNICIPAL UTILITIES IN CALIFORNIA, WE WOULD ONLY, UH, AT LEAST AT THIS TIME, WE WOULD ONLY NEED TO COMPLY TO, UH, THE FEDERAL CODE.

AND I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT I, I GUESS I'M SAYING IS IF THE GENERAL ORDER 1 1 2 DASH F IS BEST PRACTICES IN CALIFORNIA, MAYBE A MUNICIPAL, OR MAYBE IT DOESN'T APPLY, I DON'T KNOW, SOMEONE WOULD'VE TO TELL ME.

BUT WHY WOULDN'T WE WANT COMPLY WITH THAT TOO? TO BE A SAFE AND EFFICIENT AND, YOU KNOW, WE CAN RIGHT, TRUE.

IT'S TRUE.

I GUESS MY QUESTION TO BE WOULD BE MAYBE IN A FUTURE MEETING OR SOMETHING, I COULD BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT ORDER IS AND WHAT IT REQUIRES INVESTOR OWNED, BECAUSE THERE'S, I'M SURE THERE'S DIFFERENCES AND MAYBE SOME OF IT WOULDN'T BE APPLICABLE TO A MUNICIPAL OWNED UTILITY, BUT SOME OF THEM MIGHT, AND I DON'T KNOW.

OKAY.

UM, TO, UH, WHAT YOU SAID EARLIER, IT, UH, IMSA ACTUALLY, UH, ONE OF THEIR, ONE OF THE, THEIR GOALS IS TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THE PUBLIC IS, UM, UH, INFORMED, INFORMED ON UPDATES.

AND THAT'S IN LINE WITH WHAT, UH, WHAT WAS SUGGESTED BY THE BOARD.

AND, UH, WHICH MAKES SENSE.

UH, ONE OF THE SLIDES THAT WE WENT OVER, PUBLIC AWARENESS TARGET AUDIENCE IS ONE OF THE TARGET AUDIENCES ARE PUBLIC OFFICIALS, INCLUDING OUR BOARD.

SO IT IS SOMETHING THAT HIGH IS HIGH IN M'S PRIORITY TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE'S IN, EVERYONE IS INFORMED.

UM, AND IF THAT IS, UH, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT THE BOARD WANTS, I I THINK THAT'S, THAT MAKES SENSE.

AND, AND I THINK THIS WOULD MEET THE, RIGHT, YOU'RE BRINGING IT TO THE PUBLIC, IT'S A PUBLICLY AGENDA.

IF THE PUBLIC HAS CONCERN, THEY'RE GONNA KNOW ALL THE GOOD WORK THE GAS DEPARTMENT DOING, UM, AND HOW WELL THEY'RE MANAGING THE SYSTEM SO THAT THEY HAVE THAT CONFIDENCE IN IT.

I, I, I THINK, I DON'T SEE IT AS A NEGATIVE, BUT I GUESS IT'S AN EXTRA STEP AS THE CHAIR INDICATED.

THANK YOU.

YEAH, THIS IS, THANK YOU FOR THE, THE PRESENTATION.

YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU GOT, GOT OUR, BOTH OF OUR MINDS MOVING IN TERMS OF, UM, PROCESS, NOT NECESSARILY GOVERNANCE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE NO AUTHORITY OVER THE PLAN.

WE WOULD RECOGNIZE THAT, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, AWARENESS FROM A, FROM A COMMITTEE, BUT ALSO A COMMISSION STANDPOINT HELPS US MAKE THE DECISIONS RELATED TO, TO, TO OPERATIONS, BUT ALSO, AND MAYBE EVEN INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, AWARDS AND PRIORITIES, UM, IN RELATION TO, TO, YOU KNOW, MUCH OF THE INFORMATION THAT YOU'VE, UH, PRESENTED HERE TODAY.

SO, UM, I THINK WE HAVE ADDITIONAL COMMENT FROM STAFF.

CHUCK, UH, CHUCK IS ONE OF OUR TRUE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS IN THIS.

UM, ONE THING I WOULD LIKE TO INFORM THE BOARD ON IS, UM, THE WAY ADDITIONS ARE MADE TO THE ONM IS A VERY THOROUGH PROCESS THAT IS REVIEWED BY SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS SUCH AS CHUCK.

UM, ANYTHING THAT WE PUT IN THAT ONM HAS TO BE FOLLOWED.

UH, SO WE WOULD HAVE TO HAVE THOROUGH DISCUSSIONS AT A

[00:25:01]

BUT IT'S A GREAT, I, I THINK OVERALL IT'S A GREAT IDEA AND IT HITS THEN, YOU KNOW, THE TARGET OF, YOU KNOW, COMMUNICATING AND REACHING OUT TO THE PUBLIC AND THE BOARD IN GENERAL.

UM, HOWEVER, THE DOCUMENT IS A LIVING BREATHING DOCUMENT THAT HAS TO BE CEMENTED OUT IN THE FIELD, AND IT COVERS ANYTHING FROM LEAKAGE TO ENGINEERING PRACTICES TO EXACTLY HOW TO USE A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT.

IT'S LITERALLY A 1000 PAGE DOCUMENT.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE INPUT.

OKAY.

UM, OTHERS, WELL, YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING? NO MORE STAFF COMMENT, NO COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD.

UM, I WILL, UM, THE MOTIONS ON THE FLOOR.

ALL IN FAVOR OF THE RECEIVING FILE.

AYE, AYE.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

UM, THE NEXT ITEM IS,

[3. 26-54501 Recommendation to receive and file Water System Overview.       Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]

UM, I KNOW WE DO HAVE A STAFF PRESENTATION WELCOME.

IS THERE A MOTION? SO MOVED.

SECOND.

THANK YOU.

NO PUBLIC, NO, NO, NO PUBLIC COMMENT NOW.

SO, SO SIMILAR TO, UM, THE PREVIOUS PRESENTATION, UM, YEN IS GOING TO GIVE A PRESENTATION ON THE WATER SYSTEM OVERVIEW AND SOME OF THE RISKS AND CHALLENGES THE WATER SYSTEM FACES, UM, IN THIS PARTICULAR PRESENTATION.

UM, I DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT IT IS KIND OF A COMPANION TO THE OVERALL STRATEGIC, UM, STRATEGIC PLAN OF OUR GROUNDWATER RESILIENCY PROGRAM.

SO OVER THE LAST SEVERAL BOARD MEETINGS AND THROUGH VARIOUS DIFFERENT PRESENTATIONS, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE GROUNDWATER RESILIENCY PROGRAM.

SO WITH THIS PRESENTATION, I DO WANT TO KIND OF HIGHLIGHT THAT TO THE, TO THE COMMITTEE TO KIND OF KEEP THAT IN MIND AND SEE HOW THIS, UM, PLAYS INTO THAT FUTURE DECISION AS TO HOW WE'RE GONNA DEAL WITH THE GROUNDWATER RESILIENCY.

UM, AND SO WITH THAT, UM, I'D LIKE TO TURN IT OVER TO Y OKAY.

THANK YOU.

YEAH, THANK YOU FOR THAT BACKGROUND INFORMATION, TY, AND GOOD MORNING CHAIR AUSTIN AND THE COMMISSIONER PARKIN.

SO AS TY SAID, THIS WATER SYSTEM OVERVIEW PRESENTATION IS MEANT TO PROVIDE YOU WITH MORE BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND TO HELP WRAP UP A, A LOT OF THE PRESENTATION YOU'VE ALREADY HEARD AND HOPEFULLY GIVE YOU MORE CONTEXT FOR FUTURE DECISION MAKING.

SO FOR OUR SYSTEM, LET'S, UM, TALKING ABOUT OUR WATER SYSTEM, LET'S FIRST START WITH THE WATER SUPPLIES.

WE HAVE TWO PRIMARY WATER SOURCES.

WE HAVE THE IMPORTED WATER FROM METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT, AND THEN WE HAVE OUR LOCAL GROUNDWATER.

SO FOR MWD, IT GETS WATER FROM THE NORTHERN STATE SINCE THE, UM, CALIFORNIA WATER PROJECT, STATE WATER PROJECT, AND THEN ALSO COLORADO RIVER.

AND THEN METROPOLITAN TREATS ITS WATER AT ONE OF THE FIVE TREATMENT PLANTS.

AND FOR US, WE PURCHASED THE TREATED WATER TO BE DELIVERED EITHER TO OUR J JOHNSON RESERVOIR OR EDUS RESERVOIR.

AND THEN THE OTHER VERY IMPORTANT SOURCE FOR US IS OUR LOCAL GROUNDWATER.

SO WE HAVE, UH, GROUNDWATER WELLS IN THE CITY, AND THE WATER IS PUMPED FROM THOSE WELLS TO THE GROUNDWATER TREATMENT PLAN.

AND ONCE THE WATER IS TREATED, IT GETS BLENDED WITH A METROPOLITAN WATER AND THEN DELIVERED TO ELEMENTAL SERVICE WATER.

AND THIS WATER SERVES OUR BLENDED ZONE.

SO WE TALK ABOUT WATER SUPPLY.

AND THEN THE OTHER SIDE OF THE EQUATION FOR OUR WATER SYSTEM IS, UH, PORT WATER DEMAND.

SO THINK THE GRID.

GREAT PRESENTATION LAST TIME FOR OUR WATER DEMAND.

I BORROWED THE SLIDES FROM DEAN.

THE OVERALL TAKEAWAY MESSAGE FOR THIS IS THAT, AS YOU CAN SEE, UM, OUR WATER DEMAND DOESN'T ALWAYS TREND THE SAME FOR US.

FROM THE 1940S TO 1990S, IT LOOKS LIKE OUR DEMAND CONTINUOUSLY GOING UP AND WE COULD BE SEEING POSSIBLY DEMAND UP TO A HUNDRED THOUSAND ACRE FEET A YEAR.

BUT IN THE NI 1990S, THIS TREND WAS REVERSED.

SO WE START TO SEE THE DEMAND GO CONTINUOUSLY GOING DOWN.

AND CURRENTLY IT'S ABOUT 40 TO 45,000 ACRE FEET.

AND IN OUR LATEST WATER RESOURCE PLANNING, OUR DEMAND FOR THE NEXT 25 YEARS IS PROJECTED TO BE SLIGHTLY LOWER THAN CURRENT DEMAND WITH THE UPPER RANGE OF, UH, 44,000 ACRE FEET AND LOWER RANGE OF 42,000 ACRE FEET.

[00:30:01]

WE WANT TO LOOK AT WHAT INFRASTRUCTURE DO WE HAVE TO DELIVER THIS WATER.

SO CURRENTLY WE HAVE 24 ACTIVE WELLS, SO MOST OF THE WELLS LOOK LIKE THIS IN PARKS.

AND THEN WE HAVE, UH, SEVEN MWD CONNECTIONS.

WE HAVE TWO LAKEWOOD INTERCONNECTIONS WE CAN ALSO USE, AND THAT WATER IS ALSO DELIVERED TO OUR CH UH, GROUNDWATER TREATMENT PLAN.

AND THEN WE HAVE OUR GROUNDWATER TREATMENT PLAN.

WE HAVE TWO RESERVOIRS, JW JOHNSON RESERVOIR AND ELEMENTAL RESERVOIR.

SO BETWEEN THE TWO RESERVOIRS, WE HAVE 31 STORAGE TANK FOR POTABLE WATER, THAT'S APPROXIMATELY ABOUT A HUNDRED MILLION GALLON STORAGE CAPACITY.

AND THEN WE HAVE ONE BOOSTER PUMP STATION FOR THE BOOSTED ZONE BECAUSE THERE'S VERY LITTLE ELEVATION DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE BOOSTED ZONE AND THE RESERVOIR.

SO WE DO NEED TO BOOST UP THE PRESSURE OVER THERE.

AND THEN WE HAVE A LOT OF OTHER COMPONENTS IN THE SYSTEM THAT INCLUDES MORE THAN 20,000 VALVES AND 900 MILES OF WATER MAINS, 90,000 WATER METERS AND APPROXIMATELY 7,000 HYDRANTS AND A LOT OTHER THINGS.

SO THIS IS WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE, AND TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE A SYSTEM THAT CAN HELP US DELIVER HIGH QUALITY AND RELIABLE WATER IN THE LONG RUN, WE WANT TO CONSIDER THREE UM, ASPECTS.

FIRST, WE WANT OUR SYSTEM TO HAVE A VARIABILITY AND RELIABILITY OF SOURCE WATER.

AND FOR US TO HAVE TWO DIFFERENT SOURCE GROUND WATER AND METROPOLITAN WATER THAT'S ADDED RELIABILITY, BUT THAT, THAT MAY NOT BE THE SAME ACROSS THE BOARD FOR OUR BLENDED ZONE AND THE MWD ZONE.

SO WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS MORE IN THE LATER SLIDES.

AND SECOND, WE WANT OUR SYSTEM TO HAVE RESILIENCE TO WATER QUALITY CHALLENGES.

FOR EXAMPLE, THERE ARE EMERGING CONTAMINANTS.

THOSE ARE THE CONTAMINANTS THAT WE PREVIOUSLY DON'T KNOW OR HAVE NOT DETECTED, AND THEY MIGHT BE COMING UP AND THERE ARE JUST MORE AND MORE STRINGENT REGULATIONS.

AND THEN SECOND, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO BALANCE MAINTAINING OUR WATER QUALITY AS WELL AS MAINTAINING SUFFICIENT EMERGENCY STORAGE.

AND THIS HAS BEEN BECOMING MORE CHALLENGING AS OUR DEMAND GOES DOWN.

AND LAST IS WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE RELIABLE INFRASTRUCTURE.

SO BOTH MAKE SURE OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS GOOD, AND ALSO MAKE SURE WE HAVE SUFFICIENT REDUNDANCY TO KIND OF HELP US RELIEVE THE PRESSURE WHEN WE HAVE ONE PART OF THE SYSTEM DOWN.

AND WE CAN ALWAYS GO TO THE OTHER PART TO CONTINUE PROVIDE SERVICE.

AND THE FIRST, WE WANT TO FOCUS ON THE VARIABILITY AND RELIABILITY OF SOURCE WATER.

AGAIN, WE HAVE TWO DIFFERENT WATER, GROUND WATER AND METROPOLITAN WATER, BUT THIS VARIABILITY AND RELIABILITY IS NOT THE SAME BECAUSE CURRENTLY WITH OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, WE CAN ONLY USE GROUNDWATER IN THE BLENDED ZONE.

SO WE CANNOT USE GROUNDWATER IN MWD ZONE.

AND, UH, WITHIN THE MWD ZONE, WE ALSO HAVE LESS REDUNDANCY FOR MWD SUPPLY COMPARED TO THE BLENDED ZONE AND THAT THE REDUNDANCY HAS LESS CAPACITY.

AND ALSO THE SOURCES FOR MWD CONNECTIONS ARE LESS IN MWD ZONE COMPARED TO BLENDED ZONE.

SO WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS IN MORE DETAIL AT THE LATER SLIDES.

SO BETWEEN THE TWO TYPES OF WATER SOURCES, GROUNDWATER AND MWD WATER, YOU PROBABLY HEARD THIS BEFORE, M GROUNDWATER IS A LOT CHEAPER THAN MWD WATER.

THE DIFFERENCE IS ABOUT $800 PER OF FOOD CURRENTLY.

SO IT MAKES SENSE FOR US TO TRY TO MAXIMIZE GROUNDWATER, BUT WE DO HAVE LIMITATIONS.

SO HERE, JUST WANT TO PROVIDE YOU WITH MORE DETAILS.

THIS GRAPH, UM, WE SHOW ON THE Y AXIS, YOU HAVE THE MILLION GALLONS PER DAY AND X AXIS, UH, ARE THE YEARS RANGING FROM 2012 TO 2027.

SO WE WANT TO SEE YOU HOW OUR SYSTEM OPERATION HAS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS.

WE HAVE THREE LINES.

THE GREEN LINE IS, UH, THE GREEN ONE IS A BLENDED ZONE DEMAND.

SO AS YOU CAN SEE, IT DOES SHOW A TYPICAL SEASONAL VARIATION.

WE DO HAVE HIGH DEMAND IN THE SUMMER AND LOW DEMAND IN THE WINTER.

AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE THE MWD ZONE DEMAND.

THIS IS PRETTY SIMILAR TO BLENDED ZONE.

AGAIN, THE SHOWING SOME SEASONAL VARIATION.

AND THIS BLUE LINE OVER HERE IS A WELL CAPACITY.

SO

[00:35:01]

AND WE WANT TO ASK, DO WE HAVE ENOUGH SUPPLY? SO DING TALK ABOUT THIS A LOT IN HIS PRESENTATION BEFORE, FOR US AS A PUMPER IN CENTRAL BASIN, WE HAVE THE GROUNDWATER PUMPING RIGHTS ABOUT 33,000 ACRE FEET ANNUALLY, WE CAN PUMP.

SO THIS WOULD BE EQUIVALENT TO ABOUT 33 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY IF WE WERE GOING TO PUMP THE WATER AT A CONSISTENT RATE.

AND, BUT THEN LOOKING OUR WELL CAPACITY, AS YOU CAN SEE, OUR WELL CAPACITY HAS BEEN STAYING BELOW THAT MINIMUM LEVEL.

BUT WHAT'S EVEN WORSE IS EVEN IF WE WANT TO, WE CAN'T KEEP PUMPING THE WATER AT THE SAME RATE BECAUSE THERE'S A DEMAND DIFFERENCE.

SO IN THE WINTERTIME, WE HAVE PERIODS THAT WHEN THE DEMAND IS SO LOW, WE CAN PUMP AT THE MINIMUM LEVEL.

AND IDEALLY THIS UNDER PUMPING DURING WINTERTIME SHOULD BE MADE UP DURING, OVER PUMPING IN THE SUMMERTIME.

BUT THAT WOULD REQUIRE US TO HAVE A LOT HIGHER CAPACITY THAN THE MINIMUM LEVEL.

WE NEED TO HAVE CAPACITY WELL ABOVE THAT.

BUT UNFORTUNATELY FOR US AT THE TIME, WE DON'T HAVE SUFFICIENT WELL CAPACITY.

SO BECAUSE OF THAT LIMITATION IN THE PAST 10 YEARS, OUR DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN GOING THROUGH A VERY AGGRESSIVE PROGRAM TO TRY TO BUILD UP THE WELL CAPACITY.

WE BUILD NEW WELLS, WE, UH, REHAB EXISTING WELLS, AND RECENTLY WE FINALLY GET TO THE POINT THAT OUR WELL CAPACITY IS WELL ABOVE THE MINIMUM LEVEL NEEDED.

BUT UNFORTUNATELY ON THE OTHER SIDE, OUR DEMAND IN THE BOOSTED ZONE HAS DROPPED SO MUCH.

SO NOW THAT PRETTY MUCH THROUGHOUT THE YEAR WE HAVE TO UNDER PUMP AND WE DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE ANY PERIOD THAT EVEN DURING HIGH DEMAND, WE, WE CAN MAKE UP THE PUMPING.

SO OVERALL, OUR PUMPING IN LIMIT IS BEING LIMITED IN THE BLENDED ZONE.

AT THE SAME TIME IN MWD ZONE, WE CANNOT USE THIS GROUND WATER.

SO THERE IS A CONSISTENT DEMAND THAT COULD BE A POTENTIAL USE FOR OUR GROUND WATER.

AND TO LOOK AT THIS AGAIN, JUST FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE.

SO THIS GRAPH SHOWS A CUMULATIVE PUMPING THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

BASICALLY MONTH BY MONTH, YOU WILL SEE THE AMOUNT OF WATER PUMP IS GOING UP.

AND THIS RED LIGHT AGAIN SHOWS OUR ANNUAL PUMPING RIGHTS ABOUT 33,000 ACRE FEET.

SO IN FY 22, THIS ORANGE LINE SHOWS OUR BLENDED ZONE DEMAND.

AS YOU CAN SEE AT THE END OF THE YEAR, THE TOTAL DEMAND IS HIGHER THAN THE ANNUAL PUMPING RIGHTS.

SO THEORETICALLY, WE COULD USE ABOVE GROUNDWATER JUST IN THE BLENDED ZONE, BUT THE REALITY IS WE DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE THE WELL CAPACITY.

SO THE WELL IS LIMITING US FROM PUMPING ALL THAT WATER.

AND EVEN WHEN THE ALL THE WELLS ARE ON, WE STILL HAVE ABOUT 3000 ACRE FEET OF THE GAP BETWEEN HOW MUCH WE CAN PUMP AND THE ANNUAL WATER RIGHTS.

AND WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED IS THAT SOMETIMES WE DO OCCASIONALLY HAVE DOWNTIME IN THE WELL, AND WE ALSO HAVE A PLAN, THE TREATMENT PLAN SHUTDOWN, THAT'S TO ACCOMMODATE LARGE CAPITAL PROJECTS AND O AND M ACTIVITIES.

AND OVER HERE IN MARCH TO APRIL, 2022, WE HAD A PLAN SHUTDOWN.

SO IN THE CUMULATIVE PUMPING, AS YOU SEE DURING THIS PERIOD, IT'S PRETTY MUCH STAYED CONSISTENT.

SO WE ARE CREATING AN EVEN BIGGER GAP COMPARED TO THE DEMAND.

AND BECAUSE THIS TIME WE DON'T HAVE THE WELL CAPACITY, WE CANNOT OVER PUMP DURING THE SUMMER TO MAKE UP.

SO THIS GAP STAYED AND IN THE END WE HAVE ABOUT 10,000 ACRE FEET OF WATER.

WE DID NOT PUMP.

AND MOVING TO FY 28, IT'S A DIFFERENT PICTURE.

AGAIN, VERY SIMILAR PRESENTATION.

WE HAVE THE ANNUAL PUMPING RIGHTS ABOUT 33,000 ACRE FEET.

AND THIS TIME OUR WELL CAPACITY IS NOT THE LIMIT ANYMORE.

IT'S WELL ABOVE OF WHAT WE NEED.

AND, BUT THEN ON THE OTHER HAND, THE BLENDED ZONE DEMAND HAS DROPPED.

SO EVEN IF WE MEET ALL THE DEMAND WITH GROUNDWATER IN THE BLENDED ZONE, WE ARE, UH, A THOUSAND ACRE FEET BELOW THE PUMPING RIGHTS AND WHAT ACTUALLY COULD HAPPEN AS WE PLAN IN FY 28, WE ARE PLANNING, UH, UM, PLAN SHUTDOWN IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER, 2027 AGAIN TO ACCOMMODATE

[00:40:01]

SO WE ARE PROJECTED TO NOT PUMPING DURING OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER TIME IN OVER HERE.

AND WE CREATED A GAP IN HERE AND OVER TIME, BECAUSE WE CANNOT MAKE UP BECAUSE OF LOW DEMAND.

SO IN THE END OF THE YEAR, WE WOULD SEE ABOUT 5,000 ACRE FEET OF PUMPED ANNUAL RIGHTS LEFT ON THE TABLE.

AND BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN CONTINUOUSLY UNDER PUMPING THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, AND CURRENTLY WE HAVE MORE THAN 40,000 ACRE FEET OF, UH, UN PUMPED WATER RIGHTS STORED IN OUR BANKS.

SO THOSE ARE WATER RIGHTS AND ASSETS WE COULD BE POTENTIALLY USED IN THE MWD ZONE BECAUSE MWD ZONE CURRENTLY HAVE ABOUT 11,000 ACRE FEET OF ANNUAL WATER DEMAND.

AND CONSIDERING THE COST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MWD WATER AND GROUNDWATER, THAT'S ABOUT $800 PER ACRE FOOT.

SO WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT SPENDING $9 MILLION EXTRA EVERY YEAR THAT WE COULD USE THE GROUNDWATER.

SO IT REALLY, FROM THE WATER SOURCE PERSPECTIVE, IT MAKES SENSE FOR US TO LOOK INTO WAYS THAT WE CAN DELIVER GROUNDWATER IN MWD ZONE.

SO WE TALK ABOUT SOURCE WATER.

UM, NOW WE WANT TO FOCUS ON HOW DO WE BUILD A SYSTEM THAT RESILIENT TO WATER QUALITY CHALLENGES.

SO AGAIN, THIS MAP IS PRETTY FAMILIAR TO YOU.

YOU SEE OUR WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, WE HAVE A LOT WELLS OVER HERE.

AND INSTEAD OF FOR OUR BLEND ZONE DEMAND, INSTEAD OF HAVING INDIVIDUAL WELL HAVING WELL HEALTH TREATMENT AND DELIVERS THE WATER DIRECTLY FROM THE WELLS TO THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, OUR SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO HAVE ALL THE WELLS PUMPED WATER TO THE TREATMENT PLANT, AND THEN THE TREATED WATER GOES TO A CENTRAL STORAGE RESERVOIR, WHICH THEN BEING CENTRALLY DISTRIBUTED TO THE SYSTEM.

AND THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR WATER QUALITY PERSPECTIVE BECAUSE IF ONE WELL HAS ELEVATED CONTAMINANT, SO BEFORE IT EVEN GETS TO THE TREATMENT PLAN FOR TREATMENT, IT ALREADY BLENDED DOWN WITH THE OTHER WELLS, AND THEN IT CAN BE TREATED EVEN FURTHER AS A TREATMENT PLAN.

SO THIS IS VERY CRITICAL FOR THE EMERGENT CONTAMINANTS CONSIDERATION BECAUSE THERE ARE, THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE CURRENTLY CANNOT DETECT OR DO NOT KNOW.

AND BY US HAVING THE BUFFER LANDING WITH OTHER WELLS AND HAVE THE TREATMENT AT THE CENTRAL TREATMENT PLAN, WE CAN DEAL WITH THOSE UNKNOWN ISSUES.

ACTUALLY, ONE GOOD EXAMPLE IS, FOR EXAMPLE, PFAS.

UM, SO PFAS, WHEN THE INITIAL MONITORING ORDER WAS ISSUED TO US, WE WERE ONLY ASKED TO MONITOR A FEW WELLS BECAUSE THOSE ARE CONSIDERED WELLS NEAR POTENTIAL CONTAMINATION LOCATIONS.

AND FORTUNATELY FOR US, WE DID NOT DETECT ANY PFAS IN OUR WELLS.

BUT RECENTLY, AT THE END OF LAST YEAR, THE STATE BOARD ISSUED A NEW PFAS MONITORING ORDER TO ALL THE WATER SYSTEM BASICALLY ASKING US TO MONITOR ALL OUR SOURCES.

SO FOR US, THAT MEANS ALL OUR WELLS, WHICH KIND OF TELLS US THAT THE STATE IS REALLY WORRIED ABOUT HOW WIDESPREAD THE PFAS CONTAMINATION MIGHT BE, AND ALSO POSSIBLY THE MIGRATION OF PFAS IN DIFFERENT WATER SOURCES.

SO THIS WAS KIND OF SAME IN OUR, UH, NEIGHBOR LAKEWOOD, THE CITY OF LAKEWOOD.

THEY DON'T HAVE CENTRAL TREATMENT PLANT, THEY HAVE 11 WALLS.

THEY USED TO DELIVER WATER DIRECTLY TO THEIR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.

AND IN THEIR INITIAL MONITORING, THEY DID NOT DETECT PFAS.

BUT THEIR RECENT MONITORING SHOWS THAT THEY HAVE FOUR WELLS THAT THEY DETECTED PFAS, AND BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE CENTRAL TREATMENT, THEY HAVE TO ABANDON THOSE WELLS.

SO FORTUNATELY FOR US, WE DO HAVE THOSE BUFFERS AND WE HAVEN'T DETECTED THOSE, BUT WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE MIGRATION PFAS IN THE AQUIFERS.

AND THEN THE OTHER IMPORTANT BENEFIT FOR US TO HAVE A CENTRAL TREATMENT PLAN AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, CENTRAL DISTRIBUTION IN THE RESERVOIR, IS THAT IT GIVES US ABILITY TO BALANCE MAINTAINING WATER QUALITY AND MAINTAINING SUFFICIENT EMERGENCY STORAGE.

SO HERE THIS GRAPH, UH, WILL SHOW YOU HOW WE OPERATE OUR STORAGE TANK SO THAT WE CAN MEET BOTH CRITERIA.

WE HAVE THE GRAPH SHOWING, UM, TWO LINES CHLOR RESIDUAL SHOWING IN THE GRAY HERE, AND THE YX IS OVER HERE.

AND THE YELLOW SHOWS THE STORAGE TANK LEVELS ON THE Y AXIS OVER HERE.

AND, UH, WE'RE SHOWING A 48 HOUR TIME PERIOD JUST TO SHOW YOU THE TYPICAL

[00:45:01]

SO LOOKING AT THE TANK LEVEL, AS YOU CAN SEE DURING THE, DURING THE DAY, WE SEE WE ALLOW THE TANK TO NATURALLY DRAIN.

THAT'S TO GRAVITY FEED THE SYSTEM BASED ON THE DEMAND, THE LEVEL COULD DROP TO ABOUT HALF OF THE STORAGE TANK LEVEL.

A FULL TANK IS ABOUT, UH, 33 FEET, UM, TALL.

AND THEN AT NIGHT, WE WOULD FILL UP THE TANK ALL THE WAY TO CLOSE TO FULL.

AND THIS HELPS US CREATE A DAILY CYCLING ABOUT 10 FEET.

SO BY HAVING THE CYCLING, IT ALSO HELPS US MAINTAIN THAT, MAINTAIN THE SUFFICIENT STORAGE IN THE STORAGE TANKS, BUT ALSO MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE'RE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THE CHLORINE RESIDUAL.

AS YOU CAN SEE, DURING THE DAY WHEN THE WATER IS STAGNANT, WE SEE NATURAL DECAY OF CHLORINE RESIDUAL.

AND THEN BECAUSE WE'RE FILLING UP THE TANK WITH FRESH WATER AT NIGHT, WE WERE ABLE TO BRING THIS RESIDUAL UP AND THEN THIS CYCLE GOES ON.

AND IF WE WERE NOT HAVING THIS CYCLE, BASICALLY LET THE TANK BE STAGNANT, JUST BE A STORAGE SITTING THERE, THEN WE CAN EXPECT TO BASICALLY SEE THE CORN RESIDUAL GOING DOWN TOO MUCH LOWER.

AND THIS IS JUST A CONSTANT DECAY RATE.

USUALLY IF THE TANK BECOMES STAGNANT, THE DECAY RATE WOULD BECOME MUCH FASTER AND THIS WOULD GO DOWN A LOT FASTER, WHICH, WHICH IS VERY BAD FOR WATER QUALITY.

AND THIS CAN HAPPEN IF WE DON'T HAVE CENTRALIZED TREATMENT BECAUSE THE WELL HAD THE WELL SEND WATER DIRECTLY TO THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, WHICH MEANS THAT THERE'S NOT GONNA BE MU MUCH DEMAND FROM THE STORAGE TANK.

SO WE EITHER HAVE TO KEEP THE STORAGE STAGNANT, LET THE WATER QUALITY GO BAD, OR WE DON'T HAVE IN, UH, SUFFICIENT STORAGE BASICALLY TO HELP THE CYCLE OF WATER EITHER.

EITHER WAY, IT'S NOT GOOD FOR US.

AND HERE, JUST TO SHOW YOU ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF WHAT COULD HAPPEN WHEN WE HAVE EXCESS STORAGE AND LOW WATER USE.

SO THIS IS ACTUALLY A ACTUAL SAMPLING RESULTS FROM PORT OF LONG BEACH.

AS THE, YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE AWARE, THE PORT SYSTEM IS ACTUALLY, IT'S INTENTIONALLY DESIGNED TO BE OVERSIZED TO PROVIDE A LOT OF FIREFIGHTING STORAGE.

SO THAT MEANS THERE IS A LOT STORAGE, BUT THEN ON THE OTHER HAND, IT HAS VERY LOW WATER USE AND THIS COMBINATION WILL LEAD TO VERY BAD WATER QUALITY.

SO BASICALLY TO MAKE SURE THE WATER DOESN'T GET DOWN TO A REALLY DANGEROUS LEVEL, THE PORT WOULD PERFORM WEEKLY FLUSHING, VERY AGGRESSIVE FLUSHING PROGRAM.

BUT EVEN WITH THAT PROGRAM, YOU CAN SEE THE CHLOR RESIDUAL OVER HERE.

AND X AXIS SHOWS THE TIME AFTER FLUSHING.

SO THE DEC DECAY GOES VERY FAST.

RESIDUAL PRETTY MUCH DROPPED TO, YOU KNOW, NON DETECT WITHIN 72 HOURS.

THAT'S BECAUSE THAT SYSTEM IS USED TO BEING VERY STAGNANT.

SO YOU DO HAVE A BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITY THAT CAN CONSUME THE CHLORINE VERY FAST.

AND WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE CHLORINE, IT'S PRESENTING THE SYSTEM TO BE VULNERABLE, NOT PROTECTING US FROM, FROM THOSE HARMFUL BACTERIA AND POSSIBLY PATHOGENS.

SO OVERALL THIS WE WANT TO KIND OF MAKE SURE THE TAKEAWAY MESSAGE FOR WATER QUALITY RESILIENCE.

WE WANT TO HAVE CENTRALIZED TREATMENT AND CENTRALIZED DISTRIBUTION BECAUSE THAT PROVIDES OUR, UM, US WITH RESILIENCE TO DEAL WITH EMERGING CONTAMINANTS AS WELL AS THE WATER QUALITY ISSUE WHEN WE WANT TO MAINTAIN STORAGE.

SO THE LAST PART IS WE WANT TO MAKE SURE OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS RELIABLE.

SO WE MENTIONED EARLIER THAT OUR RELIABILITY IN THE SYSTEM MIGHT NOT BE THE SAME ACROSS THE BOARD.

UH, MWD ZONE DOES PRESENT MORE LIMITATIONS COMPARED TO THE, UM, BLENDED ZONE BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE, UH, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE TO USE GROUNDWATER.

AND ALSO THERE'S LIMITED REDUNDANCY IN MWD CONNECTIONS.

SO OVER HERE IN THIS MAP, OUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM MAP, WE HAVE THE MWD CONNECTIONS SHOWING AS RED DOTS OVER HERE.

SO FOR THE BLENDED ZONE, WE HAVE LONG BEACH ONE, LONG BEACH EIGHT, AND THE LONG BEACH SEVEN, JUST TO POINT OUT OVER HERE, LONG BEACH TWO AND LONG BEACH THREE, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE IT OVER HERE, BUT THEY'RE ACTUALLY, UM, CONSIDERED OUT OF SERVICE BY MWD.

AND THEN, SO JUST TO LOOK AT THIS, WE NORMALLY USE LONG BEACH EIGHT FOR THE BLENDED ZONE.

THAT'S OUR PRIMARY CONNECTION AND LONG BEACH ONE.

AND LONG BEACH SEVEN ARE THE BACKUP FOR BLENDED ZONE.

[00:50:01]

AND THEN THE OTHER ASPECT IS ALL THREE LONG BEACH ONE, EIGHT AND SEVEN, THEY COME FROM DIFFERENT MWD FEEDERS.

SO IF MWD PERFORMS WORK ON ONE OF THE FEEDERS, IT WILL ONLY TAKE OUT ONE CONNECTION.

AS ACTUALLY HAPPENED A FEW YEARS BACK.

MWD WAS PERFORMING WORK ON SECOND LOWER FEEDER, SO LONG BEACH EIGHT WAS NOT AVAILABLE FOR A COUPLE MONTHS AND WE WERE ABLE TO USE LONG BEACH ONE AND SEVEN.

AND IN THE MWD ZONE WE HAVE LONG BEACH FOUR AS OUR PRIM PRIMARY CONNECTION, AND FIVE AND SIX ARE THE BACKUP.

AND LOOKING AT THE CAPACITY, WE CAN SEE FIVE AND SIX CAPACITY IS A LOT LOWER THAN LONG BEACH FOUR, AND BOTH FIVE AND SIX COME FROM THE SAME THEATER.

SO WE DO HAVE LESS REDUNDANCY OVER THERE.

SO WE DO HAVE SOME STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS IN OUR SYSTEM AND FOR US TO MAKE SURE WE ADDRESS THE LIMITATIONS IN THE SHORT TERM EFFORT.

WE HAVE BEEN CONTINUOUSLY WORKING ON CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS THAT INCLUDES BUILDING NEW WELLS AND REHABBING EXISTING WELL AND FOR OUR GROUNDWATER TREATMENT PLANT, WE DID A MASTER PLAN A COUPLE YEARS AGO AND DEVELOPED A 20 YEAR REHAB PROGRAM.

AND CURRENTLY WE'RE IMPLEMENTING THAT PROGRAM AND WE'RE ALSO WORKING ON, UH, REHABBING OUR MWD CONNECTION TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE RELIABILITY OVER THERE.

AND ALSO THE RESERVOIR TANKS ARE BEING REHABBED AT ALL TIMES.

AND CURRENTLY WE ARE IN A BIG, UH, REHAB PROJECT FOR OUR BOOSTER AND ZONE BOOSTED STATION PUMP, UH, BOOSTED PUMP STATION, AND WE'RE ABOUT TO WRAP UP OUR UPGRADE PROGRAM FOR OUR MONITORING CONTROL SYSTEM, SCADA SYSTEM FOR THE ENTIRE, UM, SYSTEM.